


Our Dark World

by RoseyPoseyPie



Series: Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Canon-Typical Violence, Comic Book Science, Comic Book Violence, F/F, Female Loki (Marvel), Female Thor (Marvel), Genderbending, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Lesbian Thor (Marvel), Minor Character Death, Minor Frigga/Odin (Marvel), No Incest, Odin (Marvel) Has Issues, Odin (Marvel)'s Bad Parenting, Pre-Thor: The Dark World, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Thor: The Dark World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-11-04 16:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17901941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseyPoseyPie/pseuds/RoseyPoseyPie
Summary: Her success on Midgard and defeat of Loki finally brought Thordis her father's acceptance. She has been accepted at his side, the head of his army, and the face of Asgard's future as they reclaim their dominion over the nine realms. Thordis is torn between the reality on Asgard which had been the subject of her deepest fantasies, and the love she abandoned on Midgard with a promise to return. Her choice was made for her when the Convergence drew Jane Foster to the Aether, an ancient, cosmic power which threatens to devour Jane and perhaps the Universe itself.Thordis is between what her father wants and what she wants once again, but more is at stake than ever before.





	1. Trial

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> To those of you who follow AYCICDB, welcome back! I hope you're all going to enjoy my adaptation of Thor: The Dark World!
> 
> To those of you who are new, welcome! I highly recommend you introduce yourself to the previous installments in this series (Thordis and Not Recommended especially) to be more familiar with the ongoing storylines in this series.
> 
> I have a playlist to accompany this fic.:
> 
> [Our Dark World](https://8tracks.com/roseyposeypie/our-dark-world?utm_medium=referral&utm_content=mix-page&utm_campaign=embed_button) from [RoseyPoseyPie](http://8tracks.com/roseyposeypie?utm_medium=referral&utm_content=mix-page&utm_campaign=embed_button) on [8tracks Radio](https://8tracks.com?utm_medium=referral&utm_content=mix-page&utm_campaign=embed_button).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the prologue chapter more than anything, but I think it's a nice beginning.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

 

In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Thordis spent a week interrogating her brother. What she had learned was likely true was that Loki discovered his parentage on Jotunheim and Odin barely had a chance to explain before he fell into the Odinsleep. Then, in the hope that his sister would return, Loki schemed to have the warriors three bring her home. Once she refused her friends, Loki started to lose touch with reality. He decided the only way to bring her back to Asgard was to commit genocide of the Frost Giants. He nearly succeeded, thwarted by Heimdall and the Warriors Three. After that, he ended up in the void somehow. He would not speak of what came after. Thordis had no idea what became of Asgard in their absence. S.H.I.E.L.D. had sectioned away part of Central Park for Thordis and Loki to return to Asgard. They delivered Loki in a black van. He was cuffed, chained, and muzzled. Thordis watched the agency pull her brother into the square of their departure point.

 

“Are you coming back?” Jane asked. Jane, sweet Jane. She had been there for Thordis for the many months after Thordis committed herself to her exile. Jane was the first person with which Thordis knew romantic love. Jane wanted to come with, Thordis knew that. But Thordis was also haunted by the memories of Loki throwing her out of the sky. Jane and Darcy were both at risk for following Thordis into the mess that was the Avengers Initiative. She could not bring them anywhere else; she knew there might be danger, even Asgard. Especially Asgard. Thordis was already committing treason by planning to end her exile. She just hoped to bring Loki for punishment would alleviate Odin’s wrath.

 

“I plan to,” Thordis said. She did plan to return. She just wasn’t certain she would get to return. “I don’t know what became of Asgard in my absence. I believe Loki has finally explained enough that I have an idea, but I am uncertain.”

 

“Just, promise you’ll be safe.”

 

“I swear, Jane, that I shall return to you,” Thordis said, kissing Jane sweetly. This, Thordis knew. Either she would return to Jane on Midgard, or she would see her in Valhalla. Thordis also hugged Selvig, Darcy, Stephanie, Toni, Bertie, Claire, and a reluctant Nat. She held Mjolnir in one hand and the canister with the Tesseract in the other. She offered the other handle to Loki. He looked at her, glaring, but he accepted the other end. Thordis twisted the handle, and a beam of blue energy surrounded them. They disappeared.

 

The Tesseract was far rougher travel than the Bifrost ever was, but Jane and Selvig had crafted a transportation device centuries beyond what Midgard would ever get to make again. The tumultuous trip was thankfully not very long, despite it being far more uncoordinated than any spacetime travel Thordis experienced as of yet. Thordis and Loki landed hard on the cracked remnants of the rainbow bridge. Thordis gaped. She knew from her brother's stories that Heimdall, Sif and the warriors three destroyed the Bifrost to defeat Loki but to see the bridge in such ruin was still a shock. The Bifrost was a testament of Asgard's power, its ability to expand through the realms. Now, it was splinters. She shook herself out of her awful trance and returned to her other responsibilities. Thordis pulled Loki to his feet by the chains and stared in horror at what had become of the rainbow bridge. Deep cracks splintered the crystals, and the watchtower seemed too far away. Between the two points, a waterfall and the empty expanses to the void of Yggdrasil. Thordis heard heavy footfall behind her, the clanking and marching of the city guards.

 

“Who are you and how did you get here?” A deep-voiced guard asked.

 

“I am Thordis Odinsdottir. I come with Loki,” She said. “And I come with this.” She held up the Tesseract.

 

“Princess?” Heimdall asked, surging through the phalanx of guards. She was immediately relieved to see an old friend. “You’ve returned. I saw your fight on Midgard. Congratulations at saving the realm from the onslaught of the Chitauri.”

 

“Thank you, Heimdall,” Thordis said. “I need to see my father. Can I?”

 

“You can,” Heimdall said. “I will escort you and the Tesseract personally to the Allfather.”

 

“And what about Loki?” 

 

“The guards will deal with him, he will stand trial for his offenses to the realms,” Heimdall said.

 

There was something tight in Thordis’ chest. She knew this was coming, but she still had no pleasure in it. She swallowed down where her throat was thickening and followed Heimdall to the palace.

 

“Thordis,” Odin boomed. “You are here.”

 

“I am, Father.”

 

“Which means you ended your exile which was the terms of the treaty with Laufey.”

 

“Yes,” Thordis said plainly. What else was there to say?

 

“You have fought on Midgard, exposed the capabilities of Asgard to an inferior race, and all but declared war on the Chitauri race as you fought alongside the Midgardians to defend their planet,” Odin said.

 

“I did what was right,” Thordis said.

 

“I know,” Odin said. The next moment was filled with such winding tension, Thordis did not take a breath. She had no idea what her father would do next. The consequences would bubble to the surface of this moment eventually. And they did: He smiled. “I am proud of you. I admit, as an old king, I made a lapse in judgement. I was more afraid of the consequences of letting you fight than I was willing to let you prove yourself. I forgive you for stealing the hammer from my vault, as you have used it justly, for the safety of other lives. I hereby end your banishment, both because the terms of our peace with Jotunheim have changed drastically, and as you have proven that you are worthy of the power of your forefathers.”

 

Thordis smiled at her father, at her mother, immensely relieved. She cleared her throat, “This is the Tesseract. A powerful device which Loki used to open the portal on Midgard and I used to return us to Asgard. It will be able to repair the Bifrost. But afterward, it must be kept safe, and if possible, destroyed.”

 

“Destroyed?” Odin asked, legitimate surprise crossing his features.

 

“I have seen the damage this has caused,” Thordis said. “And the powers that seek it. Why not keep it so that nobody shall ever get a chance to use it?”

 

Odin hummed in thought, working his jaw and mulling her words. She watched him contemplate with rapture. Finally, he spoke, “I will see what I can do. In the meantime, we will use it to repair the Bifrost, and then it will be secure in my vault.” He motioned, and the einherjar carefully took the Tesseract. “Now, I have heard from Heimdall, and I have seen some of it myself. But, what do you recommend we do about Loki?”

 

“I-” Thordis was conflicted. He was her brother. But the havoc in the Midgardian city flashed through her mind. The look on Jane’s face as Loki threw her into the gap in the Helicarrier to fall through the sky and die. “I think that something instigated and motivated Loki to commit the atrocities on Midgard beyond himself. Something gave him the Chitauri scepter and the Chitauri army. It is possible it was a catalyst of his actions. But, I do think that the choices he made were, in some ways, his own. He was not controlled in the same nature he controlled the Midgardians. I have tried speaking to him, and others far more experienced in extracting information have done the same. He refuses to speak of his time in the void.”

 

“Do you think something happened to him?" Frigga asked from where she had been dutifully standing at Odin’s right hand in silence throughout the entire ordeal prior.

 

“Whether or not someone forced his hand on these matters is only secondary to the fact that he did them,” Odin said. “And he nearly killed all of Jotunheim. The consequences of his actions are clear. Thordis, please,” he motioned to the pedestal on the left side of his throne. “Join your mother and me.”

 

How long had Thordis been yearning to be seen as her father's true heir? How long had she wanted to prove herself? She knew it had been for many years. Through everything, she had followed his every rule, to no avail. Then she broke them, doing what she knew was right, to no avail. Only now, at the expense of her brother, it seemed, was she finally accepted to stand at her father's side. The reality of this was cold and heavy in her chest. She had wanted this for so long.“Yes, father,” Thordis said with a nod. She walked up the steps and stood beside her father. How had all of this changed so much? The last time she saw him, he was roaring at her for her instability and foolhardiness. Now, he was accepting her to stand beside his throne. Was this because she had proven herself with her time on Midgard? Or was it because now, Odin had no choice?

 

The seven guards brought Loki in chains into the throne room. He looked smug.

 

Frigga gasped woefully. "Loki."

 

He turned to her, “Hello, mother. Have I made you proud?”

 

“Please,” Frigga said softly. “Don’t make this worse.”

 

“Define ‘worse,’” Loki goaded. His smug expression was not even threatening to wane.

 

“Enough!” Odin said, silencing them.

 

Loki laughed, “I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

 

“Do you not truly feel the gravity of your crimes? Wherever you go there is war, ruin, and death,” Odin said.

 

“I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent god. Just like you,” Loki said. "To lead them as my people in the same way you lead yours."

 

“We are not gods. We are born, we live, we die. Just as humans do,” Odin declared.

 

“Give or take five thousand years,” Loki said.

 

Odin chuckled, “All of this because Loki desires a throne.”

 

“It is my birthright,” Loki said simply.

 

“Your birthright was to die as a child!” Odin hissed. “Cast out onto a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in you would not be here now to hate me.”

 

“If I am for the axe, then for mercy's sake, just swing it. It's not that I don't love our little talks, it's just…” he trailed off. “I don’t love them.”

 

“Very well, if you would like an axe to be swung-” Odin said.

 

“Odin, no-” Frigga said.

 

“Father, wait-” Thordis said.

Odin turned to Thordis with a questioning gaze.

 

“You recommend mercy for this creature?” Odin asked.

 

“No,” Thordis said. “You heard him. The axe would be a mercy to him. I recommend his greatest fear: To live and suffer the lonely shame of his failures. To be locked up in a cage forever.”

 

“Frigga?” Odin asked.

 

“I agree,” Frigga said, but she looked at Loki with all the hurt of a devastated and disappointed mother.

 

“Very well,” Odin said. “You should thank the women, Loki. They have more sympathy for you than I do.”

 

Loki laughed, “And so Thordis shall be Queen?”

 

“First, Thordis must strife to undo the damage you have done. She must show the realms the power of Asgard, remind them of our rule, and return needed order to the nine realms. And then, yes: She will be Queen.” Odin said. 

 

“Do you still plan to wed her off?” Loki asked. “Because I warn you, she will never agree to such. Did you not know? On Midgard, your precious Princess fell in love with a human woman.”

Thordis felt Loki's admission like a brisk slap of betrayal. When he fought her and tried to kill her seemed so slight compared to him telling the Allfather of her commitment to Jane. Her insufficiencies as an heir became starker with his words, and all Thordis could do was glare at her brother and hope that Odin would take the news well.

 

“Take him to the dungeons,” Odin said. “Get him out of my sight.”

The Einherjar took Loki to the dungeons.

"Is it true that you find no pleasure in the company of men?" Odin asked. "And that your refusal to be wed was a testament of your inability to commit yourself to a husband?"

"It is true," Thordis said, with a bowed head.

"You should have told me," Odin said. "For I always mistook your hesitancy as arrogance, childish naivete, or perhaps even outward rebellion to the needs of Asgard. I understand there are some pledges we cannot take due to the nature of our hearts. I would not ask you to marry if you could never grow to love."

"Did you not say the reason that I ought to marry was because the lendmen and the jarls-"

 

"They have seen your commitment to Asgard, and your ability as a warrior," Odin said. "You will establish yourself, as the head of my army, as a leader, and there will be no need for you to marry to gain their favor. But there is much work to be done, Thordis."

 

And Thordis was ready for such work, although heavy with Loki's betrayal, she was elated with her father's acceptance.

 

"What shall you have me do?" Thordis asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I'd love to hear your initial impressions or whatever you're looking forward to in the future!
> 
> Your feedback in its many forms (comments/kudos/bookmarks/subscriptions) is recognized and immensely appreciated. So, please, don't hesitate to provide it if you want to! :)
> 
> Until the next chapter!


	2. Order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for your response to the last chapter! I'm glad you're all looking forward to Thordis' next adventure as I am.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

 

Thordis had never fought so much in her life. The Tesseract was used to repair the Bifrost before being returned to the dark crevices of Odin’s vault. The army of Asgard mobile once again, Thordis was given the honor of leading the Army to the realms to restore the order of the various communities under the rule and protection of Asgard. With their mother nation and the source of their economy losing all transportation for nearly two years, the realms were a mess. Insurgents and marauders had taken control of massive swaths of land, civil war broke out. The people of the realms had Asgard return to them in the most memorable way possible: Striking down from the sky, a ball of lightning would crash into the thick of the battle. The force of the hammer in the earth would send a shockwave, knocking people back. Electricity would burn and scald those who dare got to close. Then, the sky would open up again, rainbow beams streaming down as the soldiers of Asgard would charge, each legion lead by one of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.

 

Thordis felt responsible. Her actions on Jotunheim led to Loki’s madness. They led to the destruction of the Bifrost, and the resulting chaos. She told herself once peace was restored, she would return to Jane. It seemed that peace would never come. The fighting went from weeks to months. Suddenly, a year on Earth passed. Thordis was still fighting, still reclaiming the realms, still defending the propriety of Asgard.

 

Her life became reduced to two things: Jane, and peace. They were hand in hand, for once she had peace, she could see Jane. And once she saw Jane, she could be at peace.

 

* * *

 

 

The marauders of Vanaheim were an ongoing problem. She had squashed them several times over the last Earth year and a half, and they always found a way to regroup and attack another village. She had just finished clearing the Vanir woods and returned to Asgard to debrief her father when Heimdall rushed in. The legions which were working on rebuilding and clearing had been ambushed by the Marauders. They freed their imprisoned brethren, and the resulting fight was growing more brutal by the second.

 

Thordis swung Mjolnir and slammed her faceplate close as she dragged Heimdall with her to the gateway of the Bifrost. The bridge opened, she hurled Mjolnir and then she stepped into the swirl of light and into the thick of the battle, incinerating a marauder in the process of travel.  Mjolnir knocked four men down before returning to her. She surveyed the area. It was a mess. There was brawling as far as the eye could see, buildings were crumbling and smoldering. Several men charged at her. She sprinted towards one, kicked him in the chest, scaled his body, leaped into the air, and slammed Mjolnir into the ground. The shockwave of rock and lightning sent ten men falling backward.

 

“I’ve got this completely under control!” Sif exclaimed from where she stood, not far from Thordis.

 

“Is that why everything is on fire?” Thordis asked before returning to the battle. The warriors three and lady Sif held their own, often fighting five marauders at once. Thordis was the Princess of Asgard and the leader of its army for a reason. With a feral roar, she was a whirlwind of lightning and a flying hammer. Her red cape streaked across the drab brown of the razed grounds of Vanaheim, the bodies that dared touch hers crumpled, broken and burning. The tide was turning. Thordis slammed Mjolnir against the head of a man, spun the hammer, and shot an arc of lighting at the four others advancing. With the coast seemingly clear, she gave herself a moment of reprieve. There was the sound of metal on metal behind her. She whipped around to see Sif holding up her shield, a crossbow bolt sticking through it.

 

“You’re welcome.” Sif said.

 

A marauder had the audacity to charge and swipe and Thordis. Mjolnir soon crushed his face, and she sent him toppling with a kick. Then, in the distance, a furious roar resounded through the valley. The fighting ceased, both sides with bated breath to view the monstrosity. The heavy footsteps got closer, coming from behind a thick cloud of smoke caused by the smoking husk of a house and the dust that had been kicked up by the thick of the battle. The creature broke through the obfuscation, a Kronan, nearly twelve feet tall. A soldier made entirely of rock and stone. The marauders parted so it could enter the battlefield. It knocked aside a member of the einherjar as if he was a toy. The Marauders, both standing and fallen, mustered the energy to make a boisterous cheer.

 

“All yours,” Sif said.

 

The marauders chanted the creature’s name as he approached Thordis. For the sake of the moment, Thordis stalked toward the Kronan in turn. It thrust its heavy, studded and spiked club into the ground as a show of strength and roared into the air.

 

“Hello,” Thordis said, Mjolnir ready in her hand. The creature roared at her. “I accept your surrender.”

 

The Marauders laughed. Thordis laughed too. She grabbed Mjolnir by the handle and spun it until it was a grey circular streak, then she flung Mjolnir into the creature’s jaw. The rock and stone making up its anatomy launched into the air, and the rest of it crumbled at her feet. The marauders stopped laughing.

 

“Anyone else?” Thordis asked.

 

She watched as the remaining marauders lowered their weapons and their helmets, disarming themselves and surrendering. They kneeled to her, a battlefield of men who finally accepted the reinstated rule of Asgard. As the marauders surrendered, Thordis could finally see the warriors three in their various locations of the field.

 

“Perhaps next time you should start with the big one!” Fandral exclaimed, flicking bits of flesh and blood off his foil.

 

* * *

 

 

This time, Thordis supervised her legion as they rounded up the surviving marauders as prisoners and worked on clearing the debris and rebuilding the sundered village.

 

“Where do we go next?” Hogun asked as they watched Sif manage and verbally abuse the long line of prisoners as they were taken to Asgard’s dungeons.

 

“Hogun, the peace is nearly won across the Nine Realms. You should stay here. Be with your people, where your heart is. Asgard can wait,” Thordis said kindly.

 

“You have my thanks,” Hogun said, clasping Thordis by the arm.

 

“And you have mine, dear friend,” Thordis said kindly. She stepped back, “Heimdall - when you’re ready!" She was sucked back to Asgard in a chromatic swirl.

 

* * *

 

 

“Is Vanaheim secure?” Odin asked as Thordis walked with him through the training grounds of Asgard.

 

“Officially,” Thordis said with a nod. “As are Nornheim and Ria.”

 

“Good. For the first time since the Bifrost was destroyed, the Nine Realms are at peace. They're well reminded of our strength, and you have earned their respect and my gratitude. You have proven to all the realms that you are the most fearsome warrior in Asgard.” Odin said. “A good start for when you become Queen.”

 

“A start?” Thordis asked.

 

“Yes, well,” Odin said with a strained smile. “Nothing is out of order except for your distracted heart.”

 

“This isn’t about Jane Foster, father,” Thordis said.

 

“Human lives are fleeting, they are nothing. You'd be better served by what lies in front of you,” Odin said, motioning to Sif who was working her way through the Einherjar with ease. “If you told me all those years ago that you preferred the company of women, I would have adjusted my expectations of you.”

 

“And, I appreciate that,” Thordis said. “But if human lives are so fleeting, then why even care for my feelings, if they are doomed to impermanence?”

 

“Because even if her life is fleeting, her effect on you may not be,” Odin said. “And I cannot have a Queen in mourning.”

 

“But you are saying I can be Queen?” Thordis asked.

 

“I'm telling you this not as the all-father but as your father: You are ready. The time has come for you to take the throne. Embrace and celebrate what you've won. Join your warriors. Eat and drink, revel in their celebration. At least pretend to enjoy yourself,” Odin said.

 

“And what of all your previous concerns?” Thordis asked. “The lendmen’s advice? The rebellious earls? Providing an heir?” He had assured her multiple times, but she was never satisfied with his assurances to trust him. She was perpetually afraid that one morning she would wake up and he would have a man she would have to marry, words of her duties to Asgard on his lips.

 

“You have proven yourself to the people of Asgard,” Odin said. “You did the moment you gave your power to the good of Asgard those years ago and refused to violate your exile dispite Loki's manipulations. And your reclamation of our lands has only solidified the people’s love for you. And you forget that our powers extend far beyond natural reproduction, creating an heir will not be a problem."

 

_ Then why was it a problem in the first place _ ? Thordis wanted to scream.

 

* * *

 

 

She found herself in the feasting hall where a grand party was being thrown. Volstagg and Fandral entertained throngs of people with their engaging stories of the battles they had recently fought, led by Princess Thordis. Thordis did try to enjoy herself, but every celebration on Asgard, every moment with these people, it felt strange and foreign. She craved the simplicity of Earth. Darcy’s humor. Jane’s comfort. The busy work and stacks of mathematics that she would dutifully work her way through for Jane’s projects. When her body was not fighting for its survival, it was craving Earth. She pulled away from the party, smiling at her friends as she passed. She took refuge on the balcony, swathed in a dark blue cloak. The wind pushed her hair behind her, and she watched the golden city of Asgard as it celebrated peace.

 

“There was a time you would celebrate for weeks,” Sif said as she stepped beside Thordis on the balcony. Sif was Thordis’ lady in waiting before they both became warriors. She was perhaps Thordis’ oldest friend, seconded only by Loki. Of course, Loki was not even Thordis’ brother, it seemed.

 

Thordis smiled. “I remember you celebrated the battle of Haragon so much that you nearly started a second,” she said.

 

Sif laughed, “Well, the first was so much fun.”

 

Thordis pushed out a laugh as well, but it was weak on her lips. Held back by all of her concerns of consequences. The constant rattling in her mind wondering if it was even right that she was here, back in Asgard, celebrating, when the suffering had been her doing in the first place. She wondered if this peace was permanent, or if violence would be a later inevitability. And most of all, she couldn’t remember the last time the loss of life had seemed fun. She knew when she felt that way, not even a decade ago. But so much of who she was and what she valued had changed in such a short period of her life, and she couldn’t remember feeling that way. She was burdened by her compassion and her insistence on the preservation of life. There was a reason that her legions always prioritized the prisoners of war rather than the pillages.

 

“Take a drink with me. Surely the Allfather could have no further task for you tonight,” Sif said.

 

“No,” Thordis shook her head. “This is one I set myself.”

 

“It has not gone unnoticed that you disappear each night. There are Nine Realms. The Future Queen of Asgard must focus on more than one,” Sif said.

 

“I thank you for your sword and your good counsel, Lady Sif,” Thordis said as she left. The walk to the Bifrost could have been much quicker if Thordis flew with Mjolnir or took a ship as many Asgardians would have. But walking through the city with her cloak pulled around herself and her hood obscuring her face was relaxing. She saw the people of Asgard as they lived, not as they were in the palace. There was something cathartic about knowing that the simplicity she craved from Midgard found itself on Asgard as well, even though it manifested in slightly different ways. Once she exited the city walls, she began the slow walk to the end of the rainbow bridge. A horse would have made this go far quicker, but these long walks gave Thordis a chance to clear her head. The longer she walked, the better she felt.

 

“You’re late,” Heimdall said as she entered his watchpoint.

 

“Merriment can sometimes be a heavier burden than battle,” Thordis said gravely as she lowered her cloak hood.

 

“Then you’re doing one of them incorrectly,” Heimdall said.

 

Thordis chuckled, “Perhaps.” She looked through the window with Heimdall. “How are the stars?”

 

“Still shining. From here I can see Nine Realms and ten trillion souls,” Heimdall said. He looked at her, “You recall what I told you of the Convergence?”

 

“Yes, the alignment of the worlds. It approaches, doesn't it?” Thordis asked.

 

“The universe hasn't seen this marvel since before my watch began. Few can sense, even fewer can see it. A world that's infected can be dangerous. It is truly beautiful,” Heimdall said, looking into the abyss of space.

 

Thordis looked in the same abyss. But all she saw was the familiar inky black with glittering cascades, “I see nothing,” she admitted.

 

“Or perhaps, not the beauty you seek,” Heimdall said.

 

Thordis laughed, “How is she?”

 

“She’s quite clever, your mortal,” Heimdall said. “She doesn't know it yet, but she studies the Convergence as well. Even…” he trailed off, his brow furrowing in confusion.

 

“What?” Thordis asked, concern spiking.

 

“I can’t see her,” Heimdall said.

 

“What do you mean you can’t see her? Did something to happen to her?”

 

“She is alive,” Heimdall assured Thordis. “I can hear her heartbeat, but she is hidden by some crevice of the universe.”

 

“How did that happen? The convergence, you believe?” Thordis asked.

 

“Possibly,” Heimdall said.

 

“Take me to her,” Thordis insisted.

 

“Your father will not like it,” Heimdall said.

 

“My father lost the right to like or dislike my choices when he banished me,” Thordis said.

 

“I must be careful,” Heimdall said. “The Midgardians will surely study, or perhaps even be frightened, of the Bifrost.”

 

“Very well,” Thordis said. “How will I be able to find her?”

 

“You will be able to feel the pull of the convergence,” Heimdall said. “Follow it, and it will lead you to whatever gap she fell into.”

 

She positioned herself at the entryway as Heimdall activated the Bifrost with a location in mind. He barely opened the Bifrost, just enough for her to slip through and head to Earth.

 

* * *

 

 

With Mjolnir hidden under the folds of her cloak, Thordis headed from the outskirts of the city she landed in deeper. Heimdall was right. The moment she stepped onto Earth, it was like a buzz of static energy pulled her in one direction, growing stronger the more she pursued it. The closer she got to the convergence, the more power she felt radiating into her. To diffuse it, she opened up the skies, letting a torrent of rainfall splatter around her. The cold Earth rain did little discomfort through the layers of her cloak, and she found herself finding an abandoned part of the city stained by the smell of smoke. Standing a ways away, she recognized the frames of Jane and Darcy. Just seeing Jane from this distance made her sway on the spot. It had been over a year, and she was ashamed. As the storm around her pushed toward Jane, she cast a space of protection. Jane watched the rainfall around her and Darcy, but on them, in awe. Then, across the destitute Midgardian lot, she spotted Thordis. As if in a trance, she handed Darcy the instrument she was holding and walked toward Thordis. The protection from the rain followed her.

 

“Jane,” Thordis said.

 

“You-you're here.” Jane said. “You’re really here?”

 

“I’m here,” Thordis said, reaching toward her and grabbing her hand. “I’m really here.”

 

“It’s been such a strange day,” Jane said. Then she shook herself, the trance ending. She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms. “Where were you?”

 

“Where were you? Heimdall could not see you,” Thordis said.

 

“I was right here where you left me. I was waiting, and then I was crying, and then I went out looking for you. You said you were coming back,” Jane said.

 

“I have come back,” Thordis said. “When the Bifrost was destroyed, the Nine Realms erupted into chaos. Wars were raging, marauding hordes were pillaging, and I had to put an end to the slaughter. My father, still weak from his age, needed my help to restore order to the realms and lead the armies of Asgard. And I felt responsible, as this all lay along a chain of events Loki and I set in motion many years ago. Today was the first day the realms were finally at peace.”

 

“As far as excuses go,” Jane said, “I guess that’s not  _ terrible _ .”

 

“Every day,” Thordis said. “That I fought, every night that I looked at the stars, I thought of you, Jane. The thought of you, of being reunited with you, it was the candle that lit my darkened path these last few months. My love for you, and the unyielding desire to be with you gave me the strength to lead the legions of einherjar through some of the worst battles Asgard has ever fared.”

 

“That’s, uh, one way to compliment a girl,” Jane said, her voice was soft and drew Thordis closer. The distance between them was closing, Thordis could feel Jane’s warm breath push through the cold air.

 

“Hey, is that you?” Darcy asked, bounding over and pointing to the rain. Thordis looked up at it. When she went in to kiss Jane, the storm had grown into a violent torrent. With a wave of her hand, the rain ceased.

 

“Uh,” Jane said to Darcy, “We’re kind of in the middle of something here.”

 

“Um, well, I’m pretty sure we’re getting arrested,” Darcy said.

 

“Do you need assistance?” Thordis asked.

 

“No - I will handle it,” Jane said. “S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me some fancy permit, I just - bureaucracy. Let me talk to them,” She went over to the police officers.

 

“So, uh,” Darcy said. “Look at you. Still muscly and everything,” She poked Thordis’ arm as it poked through the folds of her cloak. “How’s space?”

 

“Space is fine,” Thordis said with a smile, but her eyes stayed on Jane and the police officers. She was trying to show them something in her wallet, but they seemed annoyed. One of them grabbed her arm, and that was when it happened. A shockwave of red energy knocked the police officers and their car backward. Jane crumpled to the ground. In a panic, Thordis rushed over and pulled Jane to her feet, supporting her weight as her head lolled and she looked unsteady. “Jane! Jane? Are you alright?” Thordis asked.

 

“Place your hands on your head, step back!” One police officer said, brandishing a taser.

 

“Lower your weapon, this woman is unwell,” Thordis said.

 

“She’s dangerous!” He exclaimed.

 

“So am I,” Thordis said. 

 

She flicked her wrist, and the electricity of the taser blasted itself. The Police officer dropped it in a panic. The police officer backed away, talking into his radio, “Requesting armed response officers to the scene-”

 

“Hold onto me,” Thordis said to Jane. Jane did.

 

“What are you doing?” Jane asked.

 

“Heimdall!” Thordis called. A beam of light split through the swirling, dark rain clouds and surrounded them. Moments later, they stepped into the watchtower. Heimdall was looking at Thordis with concern.

 

“We have to do that again,” Jane said in groggy awe.

 

“Welcome to Asgard,” Heimdall said kindly to Jane, but his concerns were still evident to Thordis.

 

“You saw what happened to her, I couldn’t leave her on Midgard,” Thordis said.

 

“Your father will disapprove,” Heimdall said.

 

“The Allfather will have to get over it,” Thordis said. Heimdall repressed a smile.

 

“This is Asgard,” Jane said, looking around. Wonderment blossomed over her expression, curiosity and excitement bubbling underneath it all.

 

“That is Asgard,” Thordis said, pointing out of the entryway to the watchpoint. Jane surged forward, her mouth permanently open in awe. “I will give you a tour later, I promise. In the meantime, we must get you to the healers to understand what happened to you.”

 

“I summoned your horse,” Heimdall said.

 

“Thank you,” Thordis said. Sure enough, a guard on a horse had led Thordis’ familiar steed down the bridge. Thordis slipped into her saddle and pulled Jane with one arm to sit on the rump behind her. Jane held onto Thordis’ waist, and Thordis snapped the reins. The horse galloped to the palace.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I appreciate whatever forms of feedback you're willing to provide!


	3. Aether

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for your responses to the last chapter!

Thordis had befriended the healers of Asgard as a little girl when her mother decided to take her to learn simple healing from them. They had all fallen in love with the small Princess. Her friendship with them came in handy in her later years, as she snuck around under the guise of the last Valkyrie. When she was injured to the point she needed help, she knew the healers were a place she could go to receive aid in secrecy. Now, their friendship was even more useful, as they had agreed to quietly help Jane. In the Soul Forge, they commenced every observation and scan imaginable. Thordis sat beside Jane as she lay on the table, watching the technology of Asgard with childlike awe, which quickly morphed into a scientist's curiosity.

 

“What’s that?” Jane asked as the energy scans showed a terrifyingly dense stream of power running through her veins.

 

“This is not of Earth, what is it?” Thordis asked, observing the dark power as it undulated inside of her.

 

“We do not know, but she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her,” The nurse warned. Thordis gazed at Jane with worry. Jane seemed unfazed.

 

“That’s a quantum field generator, isn’t it?” Jane asked, watching the projection of the scans above her.

 

“It’s a soul forge,” Eir, the head healer, said.

 

“Does a Soul Forge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?” Jane asked.

 

Eir looked at her, both surprised and impressed. “Yes.”

 

“It’s a quantum field generator,” Jane whispered to Thordis. Thordis smiled.

 

There was a clatter outside the healers' wing, and the doors burst open. “Are my words mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?” Odin asked, storming into the room. One of the einherjar must have told him. Thordis sighed.

 

“She is ill-” Thordis began.

 

“She is mortal. Illness is their defining trait.”

 

“But only we can help her-” Thordis tried again.

 

“She does not belong here in Asgard anymore than a goat belongs at a banquet table,” Odin said, voice trembling.

 

“Did he just-?” Jane asked, taking offense as any reasonable person would have. “Who do you think you are?”

 

“I’m Odin. King of Asgard. Protector of the Nine Realms,” Odin said.

 

“Oh,” Jane said, embarrassed. “Well, I’m-”

 

“I know very well who you are, Jane Foster,” Odin said sharply.

 

“You told your Dad about me?” Jane asked.

 

“Loki did,” Thordis said simply. “Father, I would not have brought her here if I was not tremendously concerned. Something is within her, father, something I have not seen before. Something-”

 

“Her world has its healers, they're called doctors, let them deal with it,” Odin told her dismissively. He turned to the Einherjar. “Guards, take her back to Midgard-”

 

“I wouldn’t touch her if I were you,” Thordis warned as the guards attempted to pull Jane off the table. As Thordis expected, another surge of the same scarlet energy launched the guards backward against the wall. She turned to her father with a tired expression as he gaped in Jane at shock and surprise. “Are my words mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?” She asked her father, straining every muscle in her face to not look smug. The Allfather had the decency to look embarrassed and concerned. “Jane, are you alright?” Thordis asked. Jane nodded.

 

“That’s impossible,” Odin gaped at the readings of the soul forge.

 

“The infection - it’s protecting her,” Eir exclaimed.

 

“No it is defending itself,” Thordis said.

 

“Come with me,” Odin said with resignation. Jane and Thordis followed him through the palace and to the library. “There are relics that predate the universe itself. What lies within her appears to be one of them. The Nine Realms are not eternal. They had dawn as they will have dusk,” Odin said. As he spoke, he took a book off a shelf and opened it for Jane and Thordis. “But before that dawn, the dark forces, the Dark Elves, reigned absolute and unchallenged.”

 

Thordis looked at the runes on the book, “‘Born of eternal night, the Dark Elves comes to steal away your light.’ They were these stories mother told us as children.”

 

Odin continued the story, “Their leader, Malekith made a weapon out of that darkness, it was called the Aether. While the other relics often appeared as stones, the Aether is fluid and ever-changing. It changes matter into dark matter and seeks out to host bodies, drawing strength from their life force. Malekith sought to use the Aether's power to return the universe to one of darkness. But after eternities of bloodshed, my father Bor, finally triumphed, ushering in the peace that lasted thousands of years.”

 

“What happened?” Jane asked.

 

“He killed them all,” Thordis said. “Or, he claimed to. The stories say that the Aether was destroyed with them, and yet, here it is.”

 

“The Dark Elves are dead,” Odin said firmly.

 

“Does your book happen to mention how to get it out of me?” Jane asked.

 

“No, it does not,” Odin said, closing the book.

 

“So what was the point of this?” Thordis asked.

 

“Now we understand what is infecting her,” Odin said.

 

“And?” Thordis asked. “We let it slowly kill her?”

 

“The Aether is chaos. It cannot be controlled.”

 

“The Dark Elves controlled it,” she said. “Maybe we should ask them.”

 

“They are dead!” Odin exclaimed.

 

“So you say,” Thordis said.

 

Odin huffed, “You are welcome to use the library to search for a way to improve her condition, but I doubt you will be successful.” he swept away, leaving the library.

 

“What an interesting man,” Jane said, her voice thick with annoyance. “This library is huge.”

 

“It will also be of little use. My father knows every book. If there were any better information, he would have found it,” Thordis said. “Come with me, I would like to show you my room.”

 

Jane went with Thordis, “You think now is the best time to do _ that _ ?”

 

“Do what?” Thordis asked. She realized. She blushed. “No, I mean, clothes. You - you’re not wearing the right clothes for Asgard.”

 

“Oh,” Jane said. “Right.”

 

“Yes,” Thordis nodded. “Do you- would you prefer if we-”

 

“No, well, I mean yes, but, not now while I’m infected, you know?” Jane asked. Thordis nodded. 

 

* * *

 

 

Thordis found a dress from her youth that would be small enough for Jane’s narrow frame. Once Jane was aesthetically indistinguishable from a normal Asgardian, Thordis provided Jane with a tour of the palace grounds, and they talked, catching up after being separated for a year and a half.

 

“When you came for me, you knew I was in trouble,” Jane said.

 

“Well, Heimdall had lost sight of you, you were no longer on Earth,” Thordis explained.

 

“How is that possible?” Jane asked.

 

Thordis pulled Jane to stand beside her in front of the balcony, “I believe you were in between worlds. The Nine Realms travel within Yggdrasil, orbiting Midgard in much the way your planet orbits the sun.” She delicately lifted Jane’s hand and placed their palms together, mimicking the worlds rotating. “Every five thousand years the worlds align perfectly, we call this the Convergence.” Thordis aligned her hand with Jane’s, so they were in perfect parallel. “During this time the borders between worlds become blurred. It's possible you found one of these points. We are lucky that it remained open.” Thordis continued to shift her palm against Jane’s, so they were no longer parallel. “Once the worlds pass out of alignment, the connection is lost.” Jane closed her hand around Thordis’ fingers. Some powerful magnetic pull between the two of them brought Thordis bending down to Jane’s lips. Catching Jane’s lips in hers felt like second nature, a memory well-rehearsed and ingrained in her every fiber. They drifted apart, Jane leaning her forehead against Thordis’.

 

“I like the way you explain things,” Jane said gently with a soft smile. Then worry clouded her face, “What’s going to happen to me?”

 

“I’ll find a way to save you, Jane,” Thordis promised.

 

“Your father said there was-”

 

“My father doesn’t know everything,” Thordis said.

 

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” A friendly voice called. Thordis and Jane turned to see Frigga step onto the balcony with a kind smile. “Having you back has harmed his ego enough.”

 

“When was that my problem?” Thordis asked with a smile. Frigga sighed and shook her head. “Jane Foster,” Thordis said. “Please, meet Frigga. She is the Queen of Asgard, and my mother.”

 

Upon realization of who Frigga was, Jane seemed embarrassed, pulling her hands from Thordis and retreating in on herself. She was apparently still uncomfortable from her encounter with Odin.

 

“Hi,” Jane said, she made no eye contact, head lowered in deference and shoulders hunched to seem smaller.

 

“Don’t worry, dear,” Frigga said, recognizing Jane's discomfort and alleviating it with simple words and gentle tone. “I’m not as unreasonable as my husband.”

 

“Oh, uh, okay,” Jane said, not really sure how to respond. She hugged herself and ran her thumbs along her arms, a nervous tic. “Um, does everybody here dislike him?”

 

“One can criticize or disagree without disliking,” Frigga said, voice calm and careful. Thordis knew too well that her mother and her father's marriage had been strained by their disagreements over the recent treatment of Thordis and Loki. She hoped it would pass before her aging father did, she would have hated for her parents' long and devoted marriage to be sullied in the eleventh hour.

 

“Well-spoken, mother,” Thordis said.

 

"Well, you didn't learn your diplomacy from your father," Frigga said, a coy smile playing at her lips.

 

"I learned few useful things from father."

 

Suddenly, a horn blasted through Asgard. A warning. A second horn blasted. A location.

 

“The prisons,” Frigga gasped.

 

“Loki,” Thordis worried.

 

“Go,” Frigga said. “I will look after her.”

 

Thordis nodded and summoned Mjolnir, leaping off the balcony to catch the hammer in the middle of the air and swoop down to the entrance of the dungeons. In the prisons, Volstagg and Fandral were already embedded in the fighting of the freed marauders.

 

“Return to your cells, and no further harm shall come to you,” Thordis announced as she arrived. “You have my word.”

 

One of the marauders swung at her. She ducked his strike and forced Mjolnir into his skull. He was flung backward, collapsing ten feet back.

 

“Very well, you do not have my word,” Thordis said. With Mjolnir and beams of crackling energy, she entered the fight. In close quarters, her powerful attacks were even more effective, as the force of her hammer in one body could knock five to the ground. The reinforcing Einherjar also helped as they came. Sif hurried over to Thordis.

 

“It’s a distraction!” She exclaimed.

 

“What?” Thordis asked.

 

“They - The Dark Elves - they’re invading the palace,” Sif said. “They’re going after-”

 

“Jane,” Thordis said, eyes darkening. She spun Mjolnir and shot like a bolt up the stairwell and toward the rooms her mother and Jane would likely be hiding out in.

 

“Witch!” She heard a voice exclaim. “Where is the Aether?”

 

“I’ll never tell,” Frigga said.

 

“I believe you.” 

 

Thordis stepped into the room just in time to see a man force a blade through her mother’s chest from behind. She roared, lightning burning deep scars into the men in her mother’s room. The larger one grabbed, the smaller one and they leaped off the balcony. Thordis flung a charged Mjolnir, it caused further damage as it knocked into them in the air, but they were caught by their ship and sped away, moving inexplicably quickly. Thordis resummoned and hurled Mjolnir at their main ship, but it vanished before her eyes. She turned around in horror to see her father enter the room, look at her with disappointment, and slowly make his way to her mother’s broken body. Odin fell to his knees to clutch his wife and stroke her face as her body grew cold.

 

Odin stood up and turned to Thordis. “I suppose this is the consequence of your actions.”

 

“I suppose so,” Thordis said, her voice devoid of all passion. She felt numb.

 

“What? No clever retort? No sharp comeback?” Odin asked, his anger growing by the moment.

 

“I’m sorry,” Thordis said.

 

“You should be,” Odin hissed. “Leave us. I - there are preparations that must be done for tonight. Survey the palace. Count the dead.”

 

“Yes, Father,” Thordis said.

 

“Take the girl,” Odin said. Thordis looked up. Jane had been standing awkwardly in the entranceway the entire time.

 

“Yes, Father,” Thordis said.

 

* * *

 

 

As a young girl, Thordis thought that the funeral processions on Asgard were beautiful. Each ceremony was filled with respect. They let the deceased move on, in both body and spirit, from the realm of Asgard to the gardens of Valhalla. The gleaming light as it drifted to among the stars was an honor, a death in defense of the kingdom. Now, forever among the stars of fallen warriors. As a young girl, Thordis looked forward to funerals. The pretty lights, the sad songs, the honor. As a woman, Thordis dreaded funerals.

 

This one was the worst.

 

All of Asgard waited on the banks of the seas as they watched the steady stream of ships drift from the canals of the city to the vast, ink waters. At the front of this steady stream of bodies, lit by a single lantern and covered in petals and a golden shroud, was Thordis’ mother. Once she was a ways away from the shore, a single, flaming arrow was launched in a high arc through the clear night sky. When it landed, the ship carrying the Queen’s body erupted into crackling orange flames. The city of Asgard was given a moment to mourn their queen. Then, a volley of arrows rained down, each one striking a floating funeral pyre for the dead Asgardians in the Dark Elves attack. They had snuck into the city, obscured by their dark matter. They had caused a distraction in the bowels of Asgard, and once the fighting was concentrated the dungeons, they took advantage of the vulnerabilities and launched an aerial attack. That was the second distraction, while Malekith and one massive companion snuck into the palace to find Jane. 

 

Thordis had counted the dead, which was why, when the volley of flaming arrows went into the air, she knew for a fact that there were one hundred and eighteen of them. There were one hundred and eighteen pyres for fallen soldiers. There were one hundred and eighteen families other than hers mourning a personal loss. She would not apologize for bringing Jane to  Asgard. She would not apologize for not knowing that the Dark Elves would pursue the Aether. But she would apologize for not being able to stop them. One hundred and eighteen Asgardians and her mother drifted out to sea. As her pyre reached the edge of the lake, where the falls lead to the abyss, it continued to glide. Floating through space as if it was an extension of the water. The pyre exploded in a thousand silver sparks, which drifted up into the stars.

 

Odin banged Gungir into the ground. One by one, the mourning families released a silvery, pearlescent orb into the sky to signify their grief. Of course, with the death of the Queen of Asgard, every family had an orb to release. The air was filled with thousands of white lights, and they drifted into the sky, one by one.

 

Thordis pulled Jane back to the palace as quickly as she could, to avoid her people and her father. She pushed past the bloodstains and the crumbled walls, her heart aching impossible more with every mark of her failure upon the halls of Asgard. When she was in the refuge of her room, she shed her ceremonial armor, dropped Mjolnir in the entryway, and collapsed face first in the bed. The bed dipped beside her as Jane lay down, her hands drifted along Thordis’ back soothingly.

 

“It’s okay, we’re alone,” Jane said.

 

Thordis let go. She sobbed into her pillow. Jane rolled closer and held her, her hands pressed reassurance and love into Thordis.

 

“I’m so sorry,” Jane said. “This is all my fault.”

 

“No,” Thordis snapped up. “No, Jane, you can’t blame yourself for the acts of Malekith and myself.”

 

“Well, you can’t blame yourself either,” Jane said. “You had no way of knowing that they’d attack.”

 

“But shouldn't I have known? Shouldn’t I have - how can I defend Asgard as its Queen when I can’t see threats coming?”

 

“Well,” Jane said. “They are using dark matter and dark energy. I mean, beyond my complete fascination that there are somehow living creatures composed with dark matter, which completely revolutionizes our theories of science and astrophysics, I know that it’s unobservable to our, traditional and baryonic devices. Including your friend Heimdall. Nobody could have seen the threats coming, so you can’t punish yourself for that.”

 

“But, as a strategist - I suspected my father was wrong that all the Dark Elves were dead. Why didn’t I act on that?”

 

“Well, what if you did? Odin would have said-” Jane dropped her voice several octaves and changed her accent “-’You’re being irrational because you love a mortal’ or something like that. It was - It wasn’t an hour between when he told you the story about the Dark Elves and when they attacked. Did you really have the time to process all that? No. And neither did he. He’s the king, maybe he should be feeling some guilt too instead of making you feel all of it.”

 

“I - I believe he does,” Thordis said.

 

“You’re tired,” Jane said. “I can tell. Let’s - let’s get some rest. We’ll figure out what to do in the morning.”

 

“Jane,” Thordis said quietly. “I don’t know if I can save you.”

 

“You will,” Jane said.

 

“How do you know that?” Thordis said.

 

“Because.” Jane smiled. “You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.”

 

Thordis smiled softly, “Perhaps I should acquaint you with a woman named Jane Foster.”

 

“Huh,” Jane said, lying down on the pillow and stretching into comfort. “Interesting name. What’s she like?”

 

“She’s my inspiration,” Thordis said. “She’s a woman far more brilliant than most of her planet. She is intelligent and academic, but she is also sage and caring. She is passionate and steadfast in the sight of danger, even though she is not a warrior. I was cast out, abandoned, and banished to wander in a realm that was not my own. She took me in, she taught me how to live in this new world, she taught me to value life in a way I had not before. She taught me the freedoms and simplicities of individuality. She has illuminated my long and weary life, and I am the better for knowing her. My responsibilities have drawn us apart, and I cannot promise that it will be easy for us to be together. But in spite of all of that, I know in absolute that I love her.”

 

“I love you too,” Jane said. She pressed closer to Thordis as they lay in bed beside each other. That which was supposed to be a sweet kiss soon evolved into something far more deprived. Jane rolled onto Thordis’ chest, her hands tangled in her hair, their mouths were slanted against each other, slick and hot. The electricity that buzzed in Thordis seemed to grow even more visceral. Then Jane shuddered and pulled herself off of Thordis, her breathing was unsteady, and her eyes were red. Not red as in bloodshot, as in they were obscured by swirling energy.

 

“Jane?” Thordis asked.

 

Jane blinked, her expression was one of confusion, disorientation, and slight pain. “I-”

 

“We should just get some rest,” Thordis decided.

 

“Okay,” Jane said. She pressed her back within the curve of Thordis’ chest. Thordis pulled Jane close with her arms and felt the steady thrum of her heart as it drifted her to sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> As always, I appreciate your feedback, so don't hesitate to leave a comment, give a kudos, or bookmark this fic. 
> 
> Until the next one!


	4. Shift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support.

In the morning, Jane and Thordis were visited by a large group of Einherjar guards, under the orders of Odin, undoubtedly.

 

“What is it?” Thordis asked.

 

“We are sorry, Princess,” The Einherjar said. “But the king has given us orders. Jane Foster, you need to come with us.”

 

“Where are you taking her?” Thordis asked.

 

“A place where she will be secure, so her condition can be observed.”

 

“Can I come with?”

 

“No.”

 

“Please-”

 

“I am sorry, Princess. The Allfather has given us orders. If you wish to challenge someone, please, challenge him.”

 

“It’s alright,” Jane said. “I’ll go with them.”

 

“Jane-”

 

“I’ll be alright,” Jane said.

 

Thordis was dressed in her armor and heading down to find her father moments later, a plan already solid in her mind. She found him surveying the damage of the throne room and speaking to Fandral and Volstagg.

 

“We are still unable to restore the palace shields. Our artillery cannot detect them, and even Heimdall cannot see them. My King, we are all but defenseless,” Fandral warned.

 

“Is Jane to be your prisoner now?” Thordis asked.

 

“Leave us,” Odin said to Fandral, Volstagg, and the guards. They obeyed. Odin turned to Thordis, “I do not wish to fight you.”

 

“Nor I with you,” Thordis said. “However, I intend to pursue Malekith.”

 

“We possess the Aether, Malekith will come to us,” Odin said dismissively.

 

“Yes, and you will destroy us,” Thordis accused.

 

“You overestimate the power of these creatures,” Odin said.

 

“You underestimate the worth of the lives of Asgardians,” Thordis said. “Please, your majesty, place value unto our people’s lives. There will be a cost, one that we may not have to pay. Allow me to take Jane to the Dark World and draw the enemy away from Asgard. When Malekith pulls the Aether from Jane, it will be exposed and vulnerable, and I will destroy it and him.”

 

“If you fail, you risk this weapon falling into the hands of our enemies,” Odin said.

 

“The risk is far greater if we do nothing. His ship could be over our heads right now, and we'd never even know it,” Thordis said. “He and his men are invisible to the defenses in this world. In the dark world, we will be invisible to his own. We should take the fight to him with a small party; it’s Asgard’s only chance.”

 

Odin scoffed and shook his head. He declared with confidence, “If and when he comes, his men will fall by ten thousand Asgardian blades!”

 

“And how many of our men shall fall to theirs?” Thordis asked.

 

“As many are needed!” Odin exclaimed. “We will fight! Until the last Asgardian breath, the last drop of Asgardian blood!”

 

“Then how are you any different from Malekith?” Thordis spat in outrage.

 

“The difference, my dear, is that I will win.”

 

“And if you don’t?” Thordis asked. Odin was silent. “You would rather kill all of Asgard then suffer the humiliation of being wrong.”

 

“At least their deaths will be honorable.”

 

“There is no honor in a violent death!” Thordis exclaimed. “There is no honor in a useless, stupid death! You banished me for being reckless. Now, you criticize me for being cautious? Frankly, father, I am becoming inclined to believe that your criticisms are not with my choices for any logical reason, but merely because they don’t align with yours.”

 

“Congratulations, Princess,” Odin said. “You finally realize. Now, begone. I will call you when it is time to fight. I must meet with my war council.”

 

“And I am not invited? I lead your army better than you do,” Thordis said.

 

“Not anymore,” Odin said. He swept away with a spin of his golden cloak. Thordis stormed off the other direction. She found herself in a corridor, face to face with Heimdall.

 

“Heimdall,” She gaped. “You’re not in Odin’s war council?”

 

“The Bifrost is closed by your father's orders. No one is to come or to go,” Heimdall said. He looked ashamed for letting the Dark Elves into Asgard. Thordis felt sympathy for her friend. She had never  seen him look so defeated, “We face an enemy that is invisible even to me. Of what use is a guardian such as that?”

 

“Malekith will return, you know this,” Thordis said. “Heimdall, help me, please.”

 

“Go against your father?” Heimdall asked, clearly knowing their conversation. “Princess, I wish I could. I cannot overrule my King’s wishes. Not even for you.”

 

“I’m not asking you too,” Thordis said. “The Realms need their Allfather strong and unchallenged, whether he is or not. But he is blinded, Heimdall, by hatred, by his fear, and by grief. He is haunted by things he refuses to share with me. He is - he has gone mad long ago. He hates me... and he fears me for some reason.”

 

Heimdall nodded, “You are correct. The Allfather fears what you are capable of.”

 

“I’ve never known why,” Thordis said. “My entire life, he deems to subjugate and control me. With marriage. With responsibility. With guilt. With his own suffering.”

 

Heimdall placed his hands on the cuffs on her wrists. They were gifts from her father when she was a little girl. He told her the Jarngreipr would enhance her natural magic abilities so she could be a sorceress more powerful than either him or her mother. However, Thordis was not a powerful sorceress by any means. She was capable, yes, but the only substantial conduit of her magic seemed to be Mjolnir. Loki had told her long ago that there was great magic under her skin, but centuries of training, and she still could not release it. She wondered how weak she would be without those bracelets that Heimdall now held while looking at her meaningfully. “I am sorry I cannot explain more to you, Princess.”

 

“I can’t sit idly by and watch him doom Asgard,” Thordis said.

 

“The risks are great,” Heimdall advised.

 

“Everything that we do from here on is a risk. There is no other way.”

 

“What do you require of me?”

 

“Bring Sif, Volstagg, and Fandral to my chambers once the war meeting has ended,” Thordis said. “I shall tell you all my plan then and there, and only once.”

 

“As you wish, Princess.”

 

* * *

 

 

In the dining suite attached to Thordis’ bedroom, five figures were hunched around the circular table, lit by a single candelabra

 

“What I am asking of you,” Thordis began. “Is treason, of the highest order. Success will bring us exile and failure shall mean our death.” She searched the faces of her friends. They all seemed determined. She continued. “Malekith knew the Aether was here, as he can sense its power. If we do nothing, he will come for it again, but this time lay waste to all of Asgard. So, we must move the Aether. We must move Jane off-world,” Thordis said.

 

“The Bifrost has been shut down, and the Tesseract locked away in a vault,” Sif said.

 

“There are other paths off Asgard,” Heimdall advised. “Known only to a few.”

 

“To one, actually,” Thordis said.

 

They realized who that one was.

 

“No,” Volstagg said.

 

“He will betray you,” Fandral warned.

 

“He will try,” Thordis said.

 

“You can’t even get him out of the prisons,” Sif said. “There is a blood curse upon the entrance in the aftermath of the riots.”

 

“Loki is unique,” Thordis said. “Like many Jotun, he can change. I studied the curse. I know the loopholes.”

 

“Well,” Fandral said. “What then? Your lovely mortal is being guarded by a legion of our Einherjar who will see you coming from miles away.”

 

“I won’t be the one coming for her,” Thordis said, turning to Sif. 

 

Sif nodded. “And what of the Allfather?” she asked.

 

Heimdall spoke, “It is my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against the throne. I will draw him to the watchpoint and keep him occupied long enough for this plan to have a chance.”

 

“Assuming you can get Loki's help, and you can free both him and your mortal, what good would it do? We'd all be dead the minute we step one foot outside the palace,” Volstagg said.

 

“That, my friend, is where we won't be leaving by foot,” Thordis said. “The ship that crashed into the throne room is still functional enough for a quick, messy, distracting flight. I will make sure that the fleet is following us, but Fandral will pilot one of the ships. When we have all of them on our tail, I will set the path one way. We will jump out, land in Fandral’s ship, and go the other.”

 

The group considered her instructions while nodding solemnly. If anything could work, this was it.

 

“We are all fools,” Fandral declared.

 

“The only fools that have a chance at saving Asgard,” Thordis replied.

 

* * *

 

 

In the morning, she went down to the dungeons wearing her largest, fluffiest pure white fur cloak. It was so thick that she easily hid armor for Loki beneath the folds. The guards did not question her presence in the dungeons. After all, why would the Princess of Asgard be a threat to the security of the realm?

 

Thordis found Loki’s cell. It looked clean and well kept, but she could see the flickering behind the shields, the familiar buzz and sharp scent of an illusion.

 

“Thordis, after all this time and now you come to visit me. Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?” Loki hissed, voice bitter and wounded. Thordis tried not to let the twisting in her chest for her little brother make its way to her face.

 

“Loki, enough,” Thordis said. “No more illusions.”

 

With a sigh, Loki dropped the illusion, and it was worse than Thordis thought. Every piece of furniture was upended, broken glass was strewn around the ground, and Loki sat in a corner. His hair was a mess, his clothes were torn, and he looked tired. He had stepped in some of the glass, blood pouring from his foot. He could have easily healed such a gash, but he refused to. She knew why he was so distraught — the death of their mother. Loki loved Frigga, perhaps more than anyone.

 

“Now you see me, sister,” he said. Thordis got closer to the gleaming forcefield keeping him contained. “Did she suffer?” He asked softly.

 

Thordis looked down, she assumed the answer was yes, but she didn’t see little good in telling Loki such things. “I did not come here to share our grief. Instead, I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament.”

 

“Go on,” Loki said.

 

“I know you seek vengeance as much as I do. You help me escape Asgard, and I will grant it to you, vengeance,” Thordis said.

 

“You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?” Loki asked.

 

“I don’t think I can,” Thordis said. “But mother hoped we could. She died believing in you. I feel responsible for carrying along that torch, now that she is gone. When we fought in the past, I always had a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. However, that hope will not be enough to protect you. If you betray me, even once, I will kill you.”

 

“I admire your dedication, sister,” Loki said. “But even if I exit this cell, there are blood seals preventing me from leading the dungeons. Not just the entrances, in the walls and the floor.”

 

“You and I both know there is a way  _ you _ can get around a blood seal,” Thordis said. “You are capable of a shift that affects the nature of your anatomy, including the sample of your blood.” She looked at Loki expectantly.

 

“Do you know how exhausting a shift like that is?” Loki asked.

 

“Nothing you haven’t managed before,” Thordis said.

 

“I won’t be able to change back for quite some time,” Loki said.

 

“That’s alright,” Thordis said. “Perhaps for the best. Very few people have seen your other form, and less were sober enough to remember.”

 

“The guards must be smart enough to do basic math. One woman enters, two leave?” Loki asked.

 

“The guard shift changes in two minutes,” Thordis said. “And it’s not like they keep a written record.”

 

“I’m impressed,” Loki said with a quirk of his lips. “When do we start?”

 

Thordis opened the beams of the cell to make a small gap and shrugged off her cloak, bundled it and the supplies she brought with and tossing it into the room. Loki climbed to his feet. “Could I have some privacy?” he asked. Thordis nodded and adjusted the settings of the cage. The beams of light making up the barrier grew more and more opaque until nothing in the cell was in view. Thordis waited for a few minutes as there were sounds of groaning and panting on the other side of the barrier. 

 

“Alright, I’m decent,” A ringing, honeyed, female voice called out. “I’m impressed you remembered my size.”

 

“I didn’t, I just assumed you would be small,” Thordis said. She lowered the cell doors.

 

“Now, that’s insulting,” the woman stepped down. She had thick dark hair which fell loose around her shoulders. She was bundled up in the white fur coat, obscuring the gold scale mail and green and black leather armor Thordis had provided. She wasn’t actually that short, but she was willowy and narrow in frame, quite different than a muscular Asgardian. She still had the same smug expression and sharp green eyes.”Are you sure this will work?”

 

“Mostly,” Thordis said. She and Loki strode through the corridors of the prison and toward the main entrance.

 

“Leaving, Princess?” the new shift of Einherjar asked.

 

“Yes,” Thordis said.

 

“The, uh, last shift didn’t say there were two of you,” The other guard asked.

 

“Are you new?” Thordis asked, knowing for a fact he was not, but carrying all the righteous rage of royalty in her voice. “A Princess is oft accompanied by a lady in waiting.”

 

“He is new, very sorry, Princess,” the first guard said. And like that, they exited the prisons. Loki’s blood, now that of a woman, did not activate the wards. They passed harmlessly out and into the stairwell.

 

“This is so unlike you, sister. So clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?” Loki asked.

 

“Little good that would do,” Thordis said.

 

“I assumed it’s in your nature,” Loki replied. “The plan is working, now, what’s next?”

 

“We will fly out of here on the Dark Elf ship,” Thordis said.

 

“You know how to fly that thing?” Loki asked.

 

“How hard can it be?” Thordis asked.

 

“Well, it’s an ancient technology that we’ve not seen since before Odin-” Loki began, talking down to her like she was a child.

 

“You know, you keep speaking like that, and I might punch something,” Thordis threatened.

 

“Very well, Princess,” Loki said. “I am your humble lady in waiting. Although the disguise will work now, it, by itself, will be useless later on.”

 

“You can’t fight as a woman?” Thordis asked. “It’s not very hard.”

 

“Well, of course, I can fight,” Loki said. “But you could, at least, give me a weapon. My dagger, _something_ -”

 

Odin and a group of guards were passing through the halls. In a panic, Thordis pressed Loki and her behind a column, a hand clamped over her sister’s mouth. Thordis squinted at Loki and pulled something out.

 

“At last a little common sense,” Loki said. Then her eyes widened in shock as she realized that Thordis had not unsheathed a weapon, but rather, a pair of handcuffs. They promptly clicked  around Loki’s wrists. She lifted them to between her and Thordis and glared daggers at her sister.

 

Thordis smiled, “And I thought you liked tricks.”

 

“When  _ I  _ do them.”

 

“Pity,” Thordis pouted. “Now, come on.”

 

They ran into Sif and Jane near the throne room. Thordis hugged Jane.

 

“Is that-” Jane asked pointing at Loki. “ _ Loki _ ?”

 

“Yes, she’s changed form to help us,” Thordis said. 

 

Jane was visibly uncomfortable.

 

“I’m sorry, it was the only way to-” Thordis began. Jane pushed past Thordis and toward Loki.

 

“Hello, Dr. Foster,” Loki said. “We meet aga-”

 

Jane slapped Loki across the face. “That was for throwing me from the Helicarrier-” she slapped her again “-that was for brainwashing Erik-” she raised her hand again, but Thordis caught it.

 

“There will be time to hit my sister for her many offenses later,” Thordis warned.

 

Jane squinted at Thordis and then stomped on Loki’s foot. “That was because I felt like it.”

 

Loki burst out laughing, clearly not in pain, and high peals of raucous laughter echoed, “I like her.”

 

“We don’t have time to linger,” Sif said. The group headed toward the crashed Dark Elf ship in the throne room. As they neared the site, guards started pouring out of the corridors.

 

“There they are! Take her! On my command!” the guards barked as the clanked toward the group.

 

“I’ll hold them off, take her,” Sif said to Thordis, nodding at Jane.

 

“Thank you,” Thordis said, a protective arm over Jane, she continued toward the crashed ship. 

 

As Loki brushed past Sif, Sif raised her blade to Loki’s throat. “Betray her, and I’ll kill you,” Sif said.

 

“Good to see you too, Sif,” Loki chuckled.

 

Sif lowered her weapon and charged the guards while Loki slipped behind Thordis and Jane to the rubble surrounding the crashed ship.  Guarding the open entrance was Volstagg.

 

“I will give you as much time as I can,” he promised Thordis. They clasped forearms.

 

“Thank you, my friend,” Thordis said. Jane smiled and nodded at Volstagg. Thordis helped Jane through the rubble and onboard the ship. As Loki tried to pass by Volstagg, he grabbed her by the arm.

 

“If you even think about betraying her-”

 

“You’ll kill me?” Loki guessed. She smiled bitterly, “Evidently, there will be a line.”

 

Volstagg let go of her arm and readied his axe for the coming guards. Loki stepped onboard after Thordis and Jane.

 

Thordis was standing at the helm of the dark, cavernous ship. She pressed on a large button beside her hand, but nothing happened.

 

“I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing,” Loki said.

 

“I said ‘how hard could it be,’” Thordis replied, pressing different buttons.

 

“Well, whatever you're doing, sister, I suggest you do it faster,” Loki advised as the clamor of the fighting outside the ship was getting louder and closer.

 

“Shut up, Loki.”

 

“You must have missed  _ something _ .”

 

“No, I didn’t. I’m pressing every button!” Thordis exclaimed.

 

“No, don’t hit it; just press it gently.”

 

Thordis slammed her fists on the control panel, “I am pressing it gently!” The ship activated as she slapped the console, the lights inside, the navigation system, and the piloting controls all  activating and hovering in the air around her. She beamed. She placed her hands on the console and drifted her fingers across the dark panels, feeling the ship whirr and start around her, the engines began to blast forward, and they took off through the throne room. The wings of the ship slammed into the stone columns, and they crumbled as they sped out of the wide entrance way.

 

“I think you missed a column,” Loki quipped.

 

“Shut up,” Thordis sighed as she piloted the ship into the skies of Asgard and then swooped back over the city, wings skipping into pieces of building and taking out chunks.

 

“Look,” Loki said. “Why don’t you let me take over? I’m clearly the better pilot.”

 

“Is that right?” Thordis asked as she rotated the ship and slipped through an archway. “Between the two of us, who can actually fly?” She swooped around the palace, dodging turret fire.

 

“Well, birds can fly, I don’t want to be piloted by one,” Loki said.

 

“Of course not, their wings would get in the way,” Thordis said, doing a roll in the air to avoid a blast of energy and speeding under a canal bridge. She heard a body collapse. Jane. She turned her head to look at her.

 

“Oh, dear, is she dead?” Loki asked with sparse concern.

 

“Jane!” Thordis exclaimed.

 

“I’m okay,” She said, but she was clearly weak. The Aether was straining her body. 

 

Thordis spun and arced through the air to avoid the turret fire, taking out the dome of a building in the process. “Not a word,” She said to Loki, feeling her sister open her mouth. Finally, the radar was picking up three members of the fleet on their tail.

 

“Now they’re following us,” Loki said. The ship rattled with a hit, “And now they’re firing at us!”

 

“Yes, thank you for the commentary, Loki, it’s not at all distracting!” Thordis exclaimed as she tried to maneuver into a mountain pass tunnel, one of the wings knocking the head off the  statue of King Bor.

 

“Well done, you’ve just decapitated your grandfather,” Loki said.

 

“He earned it,” Thordis replied. She continued to swoop and spin through the city, knocking into things until soon enough, the entire fleet was behind them, and Fandral’s ship was edging into position.

 

“You know, this is wonderful!” Loki declared sardonically. “This is a tremendous idea. Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that-” Loki stepped around to the other side of the console, Thordis opened the bay doors behind her and started programming a path into the sky, “-Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us. It's brilliant, Thordis! It's truly brilliant!” Thordis leaned across the console and pushed Loki out of the ship. She screamed. Then, Thordis scooped Jane up off the floor and cradled her tightly to her chest. She stepped out of the Dark Elf ship and landed gracefully on the speeding Asgardian ship below her. Loki had also fallen into the ship, although crumpled in a heap on the ground.

 

“I see your time in the dungeons has made you no less graceful, Loki,” Fandral said. “But, far more ravishing.”

 

“Eugh,” Loki groaned from her place on the floor. “Must you flirt with any object that has breasts?”

 

“Do you want to stand up, sister?” Thordis asked as she settled Jane down.

 

“Do I have to?” Loki replied, but eventually, she managed to steady herself on her feet. They watched as the fleet pursued the Dark Elf ship above their heads. “You lied to me,” Loki said. “I’m impressed. Twice in one day. You’ve changed, sister.”

 

“I’m glad you’re pleased,” Thordis said. “Now, do as you’ve promised. Take us to your secret passage.”

 

Fandral handed off the controls of the Aesir ship to Loki. Loki slipped her hands against the control rudder and lever and cackled, flying low over the water in the direction of the mountain ranges to their right. A member of the fleet peeled away, realizing that they had taken this ship and shooting after them. Loki zigged and zagged, but the ship was gaining on them. Loki made them shoot up into the air.

 

“Fandral,” Thordis turned.

 

“Right,” Fandral nodded. He took hold of a strand of rope. “For Asgard,” he jumped off the ship and swung through the air, landing on the ship behind them and dueling with the soldiers on board, winning quite quickly. He saluted Thordis, and she gave him a nod. He navigated the ship away, while Loki pushed closer to the mountains, flying into the face of one of them.

 

“Loki-” Thordis said with concern.

 

“If it were easy, everyone would do it,” Loki justified as she continued steering them into the mountain.

 

“Are you mad?” Thordis asked

 

“Quite possibly,” Loki answered.

 

Thordis dropped low, protecting Jane’s body with hers as Loki steered them into the mountain, slipping into the shadows and into a cave. The sides of the ship scraped against the crystalline interior of the cave, sparkling chromatically like the Bifrost.

 

“They need energy before we hit the inside of the cave!” Loki exclaimed.

 

“Say no more,” Thordis said. She aimed Mjolnir and conducted a bolt of lightning at a strand. The electricity sparked and crackled around them, and in a flash of light, they shot through a portal and crashed into the dark, filthy terrain of Svartalfheim. The Dark World was Dark. The terrain was black, dark grey, and dark green. The sky was hazy, and everything seemed to be in perpetual night.

 

“Ta-Dah!” Loki said with a singer’s cadence as the ship screeched to a halt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading. As always, your feedback is appreciated.


	5. Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you yet again to everyone for your support. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

 

After the hard landing, they were set back when they realized that the ship would not start again. Loki became pessimistic and declared they would die on the surface of the planet. Thordis decided to actually see if there was something in the ship’s engineering she could deal with.

 

“Why am I the one who has to repair the ship after you drove it into the ground?” Thordis asked.

 

“Because it was your brilliant idea to break me out of prison,” Loki said. “All consequences forthwith are your own, Thordis.”

 

“Well, thankfully, it only seems that the navigation lines have been misaligned,” Thordis said, pressing and shifting large cylinders of metal in the basin of the ship. They clicked into place. “I should reset the entire system. Ah, yes, here it is, the power supply,” She shifted a few disks and pressed a button. The Aesir ship whirred to life and began to hover again. “Unfortunately, the ship can’t draw energy on this realm, we’re limited to its current levels, which means we’ll only have a few hours until it shuts down.” Thordis climbed out from under the ship and boarded it again.

 

“And thus, a few hours to find and kill Malekith and destroy the Aether,” Loki said. She started up the ship, while Thordis tucked Jane and made her comfortable, “If we must do such a thing.” She looked at Jane. “What I could do with the power that flows through those veins.”

 

“It would consume you."

 

“She’s holding up alright, for now."

 

“She’s stronger in ways you’d never even know."

 

Loki scoffed, “Say goodbye.”

 

Thordis shook her head, “Not on this day.”

 

“No, but one day,” Loki said. “This day, the next, a hundred years from now. It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you've prized will be snatched from you.”

 

“Are your warnings a threat, or an attempt at expressing some sisterly concern?” Thordis asked. Loki avoided her gaze and went silent. “The latter, then.”

 

“How could you possibly know that?”

 

“You’d never let a threat be misinterpreted, you craft them with too much care,” Thordis said. “I know her life is fleeting Loki. Everyone on Asgard insists on reminding me as such. I don’t care.”

 

“How can you not care?” Loki asked.

 

“Because, perhaps, the pain is inevitable,” Thordis said. “Perhaps, I will doom myself to years of mourning. But every moment I have with her, every bright, happy memory, that will be worth centuries of joy. I could be sated for millennia from everything she’s already given me, and every lesson she’s taught me will still hold true in the future, even if bittersweet. Grief is only eternally tortuous if you fell yourself to it. Perhaps you are incapable of understanding. After all, it seems that suffering is in your nature.”

 

“You have no idea,” Loki said darkly.

 

“What would you do, with the power of the Aether?”

 

“Trying to figure out my nefarious plans?”

 

“Or making small talk,” Thordis said. “It’s very boring here.”

 

Loki smiled before forcing a scowl. “There are some people I would like to see writhe in pain.”

 

“A long list?” Thordis asked.

 

“Not as long as you’d think."

 

“Am I on it?”

 

“I haven’t decided yet,” Loki admitted.

 

Thordis looked out over the barren, sundered, dark terrain. “I’m sorry I left,” she said. “I thought that there was some wisdom in father’s actions. And while I do value peace, I thought that there was some… I don’t know, legitimacy, to his concerns. Some greater message that I ought to learn. But the longer I spent on Midgard, the more I realized Odin’s only message was subjugation. His only desire was to control me. He said so-” she scoffed. “-to my face. And now, I can’t help but blame myself for everything. Jane’s condition, your insanity, Mother’s death.”

 

Loki was quiet for a very long time, “I didn’t know we were on the terms of lamentation.”

 

“Maybe we aren’t,” Thordis said. “Perhaps, I just wish I could trust you.”

 

Loki tapped something into the ship’s console by the lever and abandoned the controls, sitting beside Thordis on the floor of the vessel, her back to the walls. “I wish you could, too.” She looked up at the dark, dull sky. “So, you’ve lost all respect for our darling Allfather?”

 

“Would I actively commit treason against him out of a place of respect?” Thordis asked. “Heimdall himself said that Odin _fears_ me. My father is afraid of me. And so, whatever I do, I shall have to suffer his control. Perhaps, part of me was looking forward to committing treason so I could be exiled again. It is easier to be forgotten and outcast than to be subjugated.”

 

“At least your father didn’t abandon you to die because you were small,” Loki said.

 

“Laufey was, as I believe the Midgardians would say, a piece of shit,” Thordis said. “I… Loki, If I knew-”

 

“Oh, I’m sure you’d have tried to make it better,” Loki said. “You’re always trying to make everything better.” Thordis didn't know how to reply, so their travels grew quiet again, the ship drifting through the wastelands. “You know since you no longer like the Allfather. You could always kill him.”

 

Thordis sent her a disapproving look, “I do not plan to resort to patricide.”

 

Loki shrugged, “Killing the face of your oppression would be freeing, that’s all. And you’d be queen out of it.”

 

“I am sick of needless death,” Thordis said. “And the throne is not worth one.”

 

“Ugh,” Loki groaned. “Why are you so _moral_ all the time?”

 

Thordis shrugged, “Probably for the same reason you’re always a bitch: It’s in my nature.”

 

Loki elbowed her in the side. Thordis laughed. They went quiet again.

 

“So, really, who’s on your list?” Thordis asked.

 

“Oh, nobody you know,” Loki said, knocking her boots together and avoiding Thordis’ gaze.

 

“The creature that you were getting the Tesseract for?” Thordis guessed. Loki stopped tapping her feet and looked away sharply.

 

“I won’t speak his name,” Loki said.

 

“Must be quite a monster, to frighten you,” Thordis said.

 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Loki said.

 

“Alright,” Thordis said. “But if you do tell me about it, maybe I could help.”

 

“I thought you hated needless death,” Loki said.

 

“That doesn’t mean all deaths are needless,” Thordis said. “If something drew you to madness, I would like to see it dead. I’m carrying on mother’s hope for you, remember. It’s not a responsibility I take lightly.”

 

“You’ve never taken a single responsibility lightly,” Loki said, standing up and leaning on the rail of the ship. “It’s infuriating.”

 

“Why?” Thordis asked.

 

“Because, inevitably, I will be compared to you,” Loki said. “And when anything is compared to you, it becomes paltry.”

 

“You’re better at magic than I am,” Thordis said. “Illusions, especially. Your natural ability of transformation. I never even could master the poor, Asgardian imitations of your naturally dynamic form.”

 

“Well, why would you want to be anything different?” Loki asked. “Perfect, Pretty Princess Thordis.”

 

“Perfect, Pretty Princess Thordis, abandoned on Midgard without a scrap of cloth on her body,” Thordis said. “Perfect, Pretty Princess Thordis, forced to choose between seeing her family again and keeping them safe.  Perfect, Pretty Princess Thordis, who had to fight her little brother or watch the world she had come to love fall to pieces at the hand of the Chitauri. Why would I ever want to be something different?” She asked.

 

“You act as though fighting me was hard.”

 

“Are you saying it wasn’t?” Thordis asked. “I had no idea what happened to you - to Asgard - to our home - to our family. And I watched you _murder_ people. Good people.”

 

“It was self-preservation,” Loki snapped. “I- you chose her.” She pointed at Jane.

 

“Of course I saved Jane,” Thordis said. “You had no idea where the Tesseract was.”

 

“I-” Loki stopped. “Was I that obvious?”

 

“You were far stupider than usual on Earth,” Thordis said. “I always hoped, as did Mother, that it was with intention.”

 

Loki looked away, “It’s complicated.”

 

“It may be hours before we find Malekith. Surely, in such a time, you could uncomplicate it?” Thordis asked.

 

Loki didn’t meet Thordis’ eyes for a very long time. She huffed, “If -  _somehow_ \- we manage to survive this, I promise I’ll tell you what happened after I fell off the Bifrost.”

 

“Thank you,” Thordis said.

 

* * *

 

They were heading through the wasteland in silence when Jane rose to her feet, seemingly possessed by the powers inside of her. “Malekith,” She rasped, before falling back down. Thordis caught her.

 

“Jane, are you alright?” Thordis asked. The strange red glow would not leave her eyes.

 

“He’s here,” Jane said. “That way,” She pointed over the crest of a hill.

 

“We should walk from here,” Loki said. “Are you sure about this plan?”

 

“Absolutely,” Thordis said. “Very in character for you.”

 

Loki rolled her eyes. They headed to the top of the hill and crouched behind rocks as black as coal.

 

“He can sense me,” Jane whispered.

 

“Then it’s time,” Thordis said, “Are you ready?”

 

Jane nodded.

 

“I am,” Loki said. They stepped into view, letting Malekith see them. “This plan of yours is going to get us killed.”

 

“Quite possibly,” Thordis agreed.

 

Loki held out her hands which were still shackled together, “Still don’t trust me, sister?”

 

“Would you?” She asked, undoing the cuffs.

 

“No, I wouldn’t,” Loki said, pulling a dagger out of nowhere and stabbing Thordis in the gut. She bent over and cried out in pain. Then Loki pushed her down the hill.

 

“Thordis, No!” Jane exclaimed.

 

Loki was in a frenzied rage “You really think I cared about Frigga, about any of you?” She kicked Thordis in the stomach. “All I ever wanted was you and Odin dead at my feet!” Thordis raised her hand to summon Mjolnir, but Loki chopped it off with a broad swipe. She screamed in pain. Jane rushed over to Thordis, but Loki grabbed her and dragged her to Malekith and the dark elves. “Malekith, I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift!” Loki exclaimed, throwing Jane to Malekith’s feet. “I ask only one thing in return, a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn.”

 

The massive companion of Malekith who murdered Frigga whispered something to Malekith in an old language. Malekith seemed to accept this, and walked over to Thordis who was writhing on the ground in pain, he lifted her chin with his foot.

 

“Look at me,” he hissed. Half of his face was black and molten with the burn of her lightning. He rose a hand, and on the ground, Jane shot into the air. Her arms were outstretched, her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open in a silent scream. Her eyes glowed red, brighter and brighter until the thick, red fluid was pulled from her by Malekith’s hand. It twisted through the air like tentacles. Jane fell to the ground, finally free of the Aether.

 

“Loki, now!” Thordis yelled. Loki dropped the illusion of her missing hand, and she summoned Mjolnir. Loki leaped onto Jane and pulled her away as Thordis sent a beam of lightning far stronger than she had ever summoned before from Mjolnir and into the center of the Aether. She pushed harder and harder, her body was burning from the power she summoned. On her wrists, the jarngreipr rattled ominously, warning her that her ability was becoming too great, that her limits were being reached. She held her blast and hoped time would result in the desired effect. The beam of lightning was bright and intense. The Aether seemed to writhe and slither into the air, trying to escape her power. Then, there was a violent blast of red, it kicked up the black smoke and dust of Svartalfheim in a resounding shockwave. When the dust cleared, the ground was littered with what looked like a thousand little rubies. Thordis was standing, triumphant, in the center of them. Loki was crouched over Jane, shielding her body with the now-grey fur cloak. On the ground, the little rubies began to jumble. Like a series of magnets, they drew toward each other, clicking and snapping with bright zaps of scarlet. Suddenly, lying in the dust, was a red gemstone far more brilliant than anything Thordis had seen before.

 

“Impressive,” Malekith hissed as he opened his hand, aiming his fingers at the stone. “If you took it, you could have survived this power, Asgardian.” The stone lifted through the air and into his open mouth. He swallowed it, pain visible on his face. He threw his head back and roared. His eyes were now the same dark red that Jane’s had been. “Now, I have it.” He turned around as if the Asgardians were now of little matter, and he walked toward his ship behind him. As he did so, half of his party of Dark Elves followed him, while his monstrous companion and the rest stayed to fight. The Dark Elves got close, and Thordis slammed her hammer into the closest one. Then into the second closest. The monstrous creature grabbed something off his belt and tossed it toward the group. Loki threw Jane aside just as the grenade-like device exploded and a white swirling vortex sucked her into the air. Thordis twirled Mjolnir and flew through the air, catching Loki as the vortex collapsed. They tumbled into the dirt together, and then, slowly, rose to their feet. Thordis spun Mjolnir and leaped off the ground, flying toward Malekith, his elves, and his monster as they boarded the ship. She sent a bolt of energy, frying two elves, but the large creature knocked her away, Mjolnir flew one way and her the other.  He stalked toward her as the ship closed behind them. His strong swings sent her swaying from side to side. She managed to duck one of his swings, but the resulting uppercut to his chin hurt her more than it hurt him.

 

Behind her, Loki was surrounded by four Dark Elves, and armed only with a single dagger. She undid the clasp on her fur cloak as her face broke out into a cold, cruel, serpentine smile. The first elf made its assault, arm reaching toward her. She blocked its grasp with the outer edge of her forearm and swung the knife, but it caught her hand. She grabbed it by its stupid braid and dragged it to the ground by its hair, pounding her dagger into its eye socket six or seven times between when she grabbed its hair and when it hit the ground. The second one charged at her, swinging its blade. She ducked under the wide swoop and slashed her dagger across the inside of its thigh. It bent over, and she mounted its shoulders like a vault, twisting and snapping its neck as she rolled forward. She continued moving, getting to her feet with the momentum and turning to the other two.

 

Thordis was on her hands and knees, knocked to the ground for the third time in her battle with this goliath elf. It wrapped his hands around her throat. She pushed and hit its armored chest while summoning Mjolnir. She swung it into his abdomen, and he folded in half. Then he grabbed her by the leg and tossed her across the wasteland like a doll. She slammed and skidded into the base of the hill. The creature lifted a large boulder, ten times his size, and hurled it at her. She lifted Mjolnir into the stone and it shattered around her, knocking her back into the ground. She summoned Mjolnir, charging behind him, but he knocked it away like a fly and continued his steady march toward her where she struggled to climb to her feet in the rubble.

 

An elf tried to knock Loki over the head with its firearm. She caught the staff with both arms and folded one elbow across his face. It slammed to one side. Then she slashed the knife in the other way, a gash ripped through its masked face. The other remaining elf sliced at her but she dodged with a sidestep and shoved her knife with both hands into the junction between the neck and the shoulder. She didn’t have time to pull her dagger back out as it slashed at her again. She ducked and slipped beneath the blade. The first elf with the gash in its face tried to club her again with its firearm, and she ducked, grabbing the weapon and slamming it in an arc, the butt hitting the elf with the blade upside the head. She kicked away the elf she apprehended the firearm from and pushed forward on the elf with the sword, catching his downward swipe with the side of the firearm. She flipped the firearm through the air like a baton and caught the blade in her hand. She ran the elf through with his own sword, spun around, grabbed the second elf by his hair, spun him around, and slit his throat, dropping him. She saw the monster standing over Thordis in the distance, and paced forward with determination.

 

On the ground, Thordis could do little more than block and take the heavy hits of the goliath elf. Each strike pushed her further and further into a crater in the dirt and rock of the wastelands. She looked up at it, her vision cloudy, her head was swimming with pain, her chest ached. It lifted both arms for the final blow, and suddenly a blade ripped through it in a bolt. It stepped to the side, shocked. Then, it grabbed Loki by her arms and pulled her to its chest, forcing the blade through her.

 

“No!” Thordis cried out.

 

The creature pushed Loki to the ground, she gurgled, gripping her chest. “See you in hell, monster!” She exclaimed. The monster looked down at his belt and saw that one of his vortex grenades was glowing. In a blast of white and a poof of black smoke, it was gone.

 

“No, no,” Thordis said, crawling over to Loki. “No, No. You fool! You don’t listen!”

 

“I know,” Loki shuddered in her sister’s arms. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Her eyes were leaking.

 

“Stay with me, okay?” Thordis begged.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Loki cried. “I’m sorry.”

 

“No,” Thordis said. “No I - I am _not_ giving up on you.” She sobbed. In her arms, Loki was starting to turn blue. Ridges formed on her skin, in the pattern of a frost giant, but her skin was not blue, it was instead an ashy gray. “I am not-” she pressed her hand into Loki’s chest. She was freezing. “Letting you-” She rose one hand into the sky. “-go!” Frost Giants had regenerative abilities, all they needed was energy to stimulate their own natural healing magic. Thordis remembered this from when she studied under Eir. Thordis never understood why her mother insisted that she out to know how to heal Frost Giants and Asgardians. Now, she wished her mother was alive to thank her. Thordis felt the magic that buzzed beneath her skin crackling with a ferocity, unlike anything she had felt before. High from her own magic and her own desperation, she summoned all the power in the atmosphere of Svartalfheim. The black clouds swirled and tumulted above her, and a beam of light burst down out of the sky and into Thordis’ hand. It passed through her body and pressed into Loki. Loki arched her back and screamed, white light burning in the wound of her chest. Thordis was exhausted, weak, and somehow, she was summoning more power than she had ever done before in her life. The Jarngreipr rattled on her wrists, and she kept pounding energy into Loki’s chest. The Jarngreipr started to burn, they started to glow as well, hot and dark, her skin was singing beneath them. Thordis was shaking, feeling the fatigue of her exertion, gritting her teeth through unimaginable pain, and somehow, still pushing energy into Loki. And then, something that had never before happened. The Jarngreipr sent a blast through Thordis, knocking her away. As if they were fighting her. She looked down at her hands, the one that had been against Loki’s chest was freezing and white with frost at the tips.

 

Thordis was exhausted. She had never been so drained, so sapped, and so empty in her life.

 

“Thordis!” Jane exclaimed, rushing to her. “Are you - are you okay?”

 

“I-” Thordis was exhausted. She nodded, “Loki?”

 

Jane understood and hurried to where Loki lay.

 

“Hey,” Jane said. “Loki!” There was a sharp sound, the cracking of a hand against a face.

 

“Ow! Why?” Loki whimpered.

 

“New York,” Jane replied snidely.

 

“I- how am I-”

 

“Alive?” Jane asked. “Yeah, I don’t know. Thordis did something fancy and magical.”

 

“Oh, good,” Loki said weakly. Her eyes fluttered closed again.

 

Jane scampered back over to Thordis, “She’s alive. Somehow, I guess - are you gonna be okay. You-”

 

Above them, the black clouds that Thordis summoned rumbled.

 

“We have to get to shelter,” Jane said. “There’s a cave that way. Can you stand?”

 

“I can try-” Thordis said. Jane helped her to her feet. Loki was spread out on the ground, breathing hard. She was still blue. The front of her leather and gilded scale armor had been burned apart by the energy that Thordis had summoned, and there was a jagged dark blue scar in the shape of a diamond in the valley of her chest. Jane pulled Loki by her ankle behind them in the dirt while Thordis stumbled and leaned on Jane. It took an embarrassingly long amount of time for the three of them to find shelter in the nearby cave. Once safe from the gusts of black dust and crackle of electricity. Thordis dropped against the wall of the cave. She summed Mjolnir to the cave and let it fall to the ground. Jane sunk beside her. Loki lay in front of them, still frosty.

 

“The Aether gave me a vision before he…” Jane trailed off. “He's gonna unleash it, not just on Asgard or on a star, Malekith is gonna destroy everything.”

 

“How?” Thordis asked. “Jane, How?”

 

“I - I - I saw him on Earth,” Jane said. “Why would he go to Earth?”

 

“It’s the center of the convergence,” Thordis said.

 

“Oh, God.” Jane lowered her head. “None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether.”

 

“Then Malekith would have repossessed it one day,” Thordis said.

 

“I only found it because I was looking for you,” Jane said pathetically.

 

“Jane,” Thordis said, reaching out and intertwining her fingers with Jane’s.

 

“And now we’re trapped here,” Jane said.

 

The cave was suddenly filled with a bright ringing tune. Thordis and Jane looked at each other in confusion.

 

“It’s not me,” Thordis said.

 

Jane reached into the pocket of her Midgardian coat she wore over her dress and pulled out her cellphone. She answered it. She listened to the phone for a moment. “Darcy!? She exclaimed in shock. “Where are you?” She heard Darcy say something. “Oh my god this is amazing - no, we’re not on Earth we’re on Svartalfheim. I don’t know how I’m getting cell reception! I think it’s coming from the cave!” She wandered further in.

 

“Jane!” Thordis exclaimed, but Jane had become entrapped by science. Thordis picked up Mjolnir with one hand and the hood of the cloak Loki was bundled in, dragging both behind Jane.

 

“No, no, no, stay on the phone, I’m trying to find an interdimensional rift,” Jane said. The ground was starting to be littered with Midgardian objects. Crumpled soda cans, and a set of car keys. Jane dropped down and picked them up. “Hey - I found the car keys!” She exclaimed, turning to Thordis with a huge smile. “We need to go deeper!” She declared. They went further into the cave. The garbage was mounting.

 

“Why are there so many shoes in here?” Thordis asked after they passed yet another dilapidated pair. Thordis had to kick all the trash in front of her to leave a path to drag Loki. Suddenly, they stepped out of the cave and into an abandoned factory’s hallway.

 

“We’re on Earth! Yes!” Jane exclaimed, giving a strange celebratory dance. “Come on, the car should be this way-” She marched off. She turned around and then realized she should help Thordis drag Loki. “Okay, um, we might need some medical supplies,” She said to Darcy. She dropped her phone to her shoulder. “What medical supplies would we need?”

 

“Loki needs time to heal since she’s a Jotun, that means she needs a cold climate,” Thordis said.

 

“We need you to fill up the bathtub with ice to submerge a person,” Jane said. “And then, like, basic first-aid stuff. Can you do that in the next hour? Yeah, we’re heading to the apartment. Okay, Erik is there? Great! Okay, bye Darce, I’ll see you in a bit.” She slipped the phone back in her pocket. “The car’s over here.” They dragged Loki out of the warehouse and Thordis recognized the strange part of the city where she had saved Jane from the police right after she was infected. The car had all the windows broken, the radio missing, and graffiti, but it still drove. Loki was bundled in the backseat with Mjolnir, Thordis sat in the shotgun, and Jane drove to her apartment in London.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, your feedback is appreciated! Let me know what you think of how I've changed the plot and where we're heading next.
> 
> Until next week! :)


	6. Convergence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thank you to everyone for your continued support! I hope you continue to enjoy!

 

Thordis carried Mjolnir in one hand and had Loki balanced on her other shoulder. Jane led the way from the parking garage to her apartment in the outskirts of London.

 

“-And once I realized our readings were in alignment with Erik’s theories S.H.I.E.L.D. basically gave me some fancy international field research permit, this flat, and told me to figure out what was going on and report back to them,” Jane explained the circumstances surrounding why she was in London. “Two weeks later, we went to that warehouse, found the gravitational anomaly and the phase shifts, and you showed up.”

 

Jane unlocked the flat door and pushed inside. Thordis passed through the entryway, and Jane closed the door behind her. Thordis hung Mjolnir by its strap on the coat hooks in the entryway and pushed into the room.

 

“Jane!” Darcy exclaimed, hugging her boss. “You can’t just leave like that! The world is going crazy! All the stuff we saw is spreading!” She looked at Jane’s Asgardian dress. “Did you go to a party?”

 

“Asgard,” Thordis said. “You have an ice bath?”

 

“Yes!” Darcy exclaimed. “This way!” She escorted Thordis down the narrow hall into the bathroom, where the bathtub was full of ice. Thordis unbundled Loki and dropped her into the cold water.

 

“Who’s the blue lady with her tits out and what happened to her?” Darcy asked.

 

“My sister,” Thordis said. “She just needs rest.” Thordis exited the bathroom, Darcy at her heels. Sitting at the dining table was Erik Selvig and some boy.

 

“Jane, you look wonderful, how was Asgard?” Erik asked, standing to hug her.

 

“Where are your pants?” Jane asked.

 

“Oh, uh...he uh...he says it helps him think,” the boy said.

 

“Okay. Well, I'm gonna need everything you got on this. All the work you've been doing on gravimetric anomalies, everything,” Jane said.

 

“Okay,” Erik said, assembling his papers. 

 

“Erik, how are you?” Thordis asked.

 

Erik chuckled up at her, then he paled, “Your brother isn’t here, is he?”

 

“No, um, but my sister is,” Thordis said awkwardly.

 

“The woman in the bathtub,” Erik nodded. “What happened to her?”

 

“She got stabbed, but I fixed it,” Thordis said.

 

“What’s her name?” the boy asked.

 

“Loki,” Thordis said, carefully measured and watching Erik’s response all the while.

 

“Don’t you get the boy Loki and the girl Loki confused?” the boy asked.

 

“Ah, well, they’re never in the same place at the same time,” Thordis said.

 

“I’ve figured it out!” Jane exclaimed, somehow finished looking at Erik’s notes and Darcy’s data. “Malekith is going to fire the Aether at a spot where all the nine worlds are connected. This will amplify the stone’s impact. With each additional world, the output will increase exponentially. The effect would be universal.”

 

“Yes, well the alignment is only temporary. He must be in exactly at the right place at the right time,” Thordis said.

 

“Well, how do we know where that is?” Darcy asked.

 

“We follow the directions. This has happened before, thousands of years ago, and The Ancients were there to see it,” Erik said. He placed a map of the British Isles on the table. “All the great constructions: the Mayans, the Chinese, the Egyptians, they made use of the gravitational effects of the Convergence. And they left us a map. Stonehenge. Snowdon, the Great Orme. These  are all coordinates taking us...here.” He drew a triangle and pointed at the intersection.

 

“Greenwich?” the boy asked.

 

“The walls between worlds will be almost non-existent. Physics is gonna go ballistic. Increase and decrease in gravity, spatial extrusions. The very fabric of reality is gonna be torn apart,”  Jane said.

 

“When?” Darcy asked.

 

“Tomorrow,” Thordis said. “Surely, your data can get an exact date?”

 

“Based on the exponential increase of anomalies and the projected data for the convergence-” Jane said. “A bit after noon.”

 

“Then we have time to plan,” Thordis said.

 

“What if we stimulate the convergence?” Jane asked. “Use it to our advantage. With reality fraying, physics changing, it could be what we need to disable the dark matter Malekith plans on  unleashing. If we use out detectors and make them  _ transmit _ these quantum frequencies instead of recording them, we could contain the convergence to a field of space, increase the effects, and build a sort of containment for Malekith right where he needs to be. Like the soul forge, but we restrain those energies within a given parameter. We could manipulate the gravimetric effects and create phase shifts within our constructed field.”

 

“Whatever you need me to do, I can and will do it,” Thordis said.

 

“I could use an extra set of hands working on these quantum field generators, especially since you know how to work a soul forge,” Jane said. “Erik, I need you to triple, quadruple run your calculations. Get us a zone about a mile in diameter and figure out where we need to plot these babies. Darcy, keep an eye on Loki, make sure she’s cold. And Ian,” She pointed to the boy, “Go to radio shack, get everything on this list. Get us a lot of Chinese food. As much takeaway as you can fit in the car. And coffee. So much coffee. It is going to be a  _ long _ night.”

 

A long night it was. After an hour, Ian returned with enough food to feed a small army, and Thordis ate half of it. She sucked down black coffee like it was nectar, and she helped make devices with Darcy from the supplies provided by Ian. Darcy sat in a chair in the hallway and listened to music on her phone, occasionally looking up to squint at Loki and then returning to whatever book she was working reading.

 

At about one in the morning, they finished.

 

“Get some rest,” Thordis advised Jane. “It will be a long day tomorrow, and you just survived carrying an ancient, universal power in your body for two days.”

 

“What about you? You got  _ pummeled _ .”

 

“I heal quickly,” Thordis said. She was also very good at ignoring the throbbing of cracked ribs. “And I want to keep an eye on Loki.”

 

“Okay,” Jane sighed. “But promise me, if you can, you’ll take a nap, at least.”

 

“I will try,” Thordis promised.

 

Ian, Selvig, Darcy, and Jane all found somewhere to sleep. Jane and Darcy each had a room in the flat. Selvig took up an air mattress, and Ian took the couch. Thordis settled on the foam mat in the bathroom, her back against the wall, and she watched Loki. Loki was still asleep, submerged up to her neck in icy water. Her face was a much deeper blue now, not the pale, grayish blue when she was first gravely injured. It gave Thordis hope for her outcome now that her color was returning. But, Thordis  _ was _ tired. She reached her limits to destroy the Aether, and moments later, she pushed those limits to save Loki. Her eyes fluttered closed. She would snap them open, let them burn in exhaustion as she continued her watch. But as the night drew on, her eyelids became heavier, and heavier, and heavier. Soon, she was asleep, her chin on her chest.

 

* * *

 

When Loki woke up, she was disoriented. Her chest burned and ached, quite understandable for having a blade shoved in it. But she wasn’t dead. She had healed. She remembered white, hot pain coursing through her as Thordis - Thordis pushed massive amounts of energy into her. Stimulated her natural Jotun regeneration before she could bleed to death or have organ failure. And then, it seemed Thordis and Jane managed to go to, ugh, Earth, and stick her in a vat of ice. She pulled her hands out of the cold and looked at the sharp blue fingers with their ridges. She looked like a Frost Giant, she realized, with a jolt. She tried to summon the illusion of her Asgardian skin, but a spark of magic was exhausting. It would be a few more hours until she was at full strength, and she knew she should recharge. She sunk deeper into the ice and sighed. She looked around. She was stunned to see Thordis beside her in this Midgardian bathroom. Thordis had fallen asleep on the floor, watching over her. The ache in Loki’s throat wasn’t from getting stabbed.

 

Loki was conflicted. Because Thordis actually seemed to care. But was it out of sisterly love or her responsibility to their mother’s memory? Had she saved Loki because she cared for her, or was it because Loki had information that Thordis found necessary? She wished Thordis just left her for dead. It would have uncomplicated everything. If she died, she would be free. If she somehow managed to live long enough to heal, she could take the ship through a passage and find some planet to hide out on. Seduce someone with power and lead a comfortable life, while everyone thought she was dead. But, Thordis saved her. And now, she was left at a crossroads, and the only way she could determine a path was through actually deciding something. She could run in the chaos of the coming convergence, escape Thordis and seek quiet refuge somewhere. She could fight if her strength returned in time. She could defend the realms, attempt to destroy Malekith, and seek revenge for her mother. She could refuse to go at all, claiming exhaustion from her injuries, and let Thordis either die or defeat Malekith on her own ability. Then, she could either sneak away or let Thordis return. If she stole away, she would either die from Malekith’s success or be stranded on Midgard to hide from the mad Titan and his Black Order. If she waited for Thordis, she would either die from Malekith’s success or be thrown back in the dungeons on Asgard. It seemed, the crux of Loki’s decision boiled down to one of three options. Die, run, or fight. If she ran, she would be responsible for her own survival. If she fought, there was a chance she could earn Thordis’ trust and protection, but at what costs?

 

Die, run, or fight?

 

Loki would surely regret this.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Thordis’ eyes fluttered open when she realized the bathroom was full of the pale sunlight of daybreak coming from the hall. She looked over to Loki, who was still in the bathtub. Loki had changed again, his face was no longer feminine nor blue and ridged. If he had enough strength to transform and cast the illusion over his Jotun skin, that meant that he was healed. She sighed with relief. It seemed daybreak also worked on Loki. As she wiped the sleep from her eyes, his face screwed up, and he slowly blinked awake, squinting around the bathroom.

 

“What did you do?” he asked.

 

“Saved your life,” Thordis said.

 

“Why?”

 

Thordis shrugged, “Perhaps, some old sentiment.”

 

“Why am I wet?” Loki asked.

 

“We submerged you in ice,” Thordis said.

 

“Since when did you know so much about how to heal a Jotun?” Loki asked.

 

“Mother insisted when the healers trained me, that I learned from Eir the anatomy of all the realms, but Jotunheim especially,” Thordis said. “I suppose, she hoped such information would be  useful one day.”

 

Loki sighed, “Sounds like Frigga. Saving me, even after I got her killed.”

 

“Malekith killed her,” Thordis said, puzzled by Loki’s guilt.

 

Loki looked up at Thordis with far more determination than she expected on his face, “So, when do we kill Malekith?”

 

“Soon,” Thordis said. “Jane will attempt to contain the effects of the convergence with quantum field generators where Malekith plans to unleash it, limiting his ability, and providing us with the means to control the convergence and its effects on the nature of physics. With this, we will contain and stop Malekith.”

 

“And how will we do that?” Loki asked.

 

“We will remove the Aether from him and kill him in the process,” Thordis said. “The Aether may be indestructible, but Malekith is not.”

 

“And if we succeed, then what?” Loki asked. “Return to Asgard? Beg for Odin’s mercy?”

 

“Let me deal with the Allfather when we succeed,” Thordis assured him.

 

* * *

 

 

In Greenwich, Darcy, Ian, Jane, Thordis and Loki were running around the University of Greenwich, planting Jane’s devices on spikes. Erik Selvig was setting up the satellites which would link all of the field generators and allow them to control the convergence in a tower of the ancient library. They knew when the Dark Elves arrived because the people of London started to scream. Out of nothing, the world split, and the large, black ship dragged along the river Thames and toward the campus. 

 

“We need to get these people to safety!” Thordis exclaimed as a stampede of students pushed past them.

 

“I think I can help,” Loki said. Fifteen Lokis, all illusions, stepped out of him and started directing the crowds out of the convergence zone with obvious annoyance. Above, the clouds began to part, slivers of the other realms visible in the spaces. “It’s starting.”

 

“You two, keep setting up!” Jane yelled at Darcy and Ian as she sprinted across the grounds to the library to help Selvig. Loki and Thordis shared a nod. Loki slipped into the shadows. Thordis, with a beam of light, transformed into her full armor. Complete with her winged helmet, the faceplate was raised. Thordis spun Mjolnir and rocketed into the air, aiming toward the courtyard where Malekith and his Dark Elves stepped into the area of the convergence. Thordis gracefully landed on the cobblestone walkway, striding toward Malekith with confidence. One of the dark elves in the very back of Malekith’s party fell to the ground.

 

“You needn't have come so far, Asgardian! Death would have come to you soon enough!” Malekith threatened, not noticing anything but the princess.

 

“Not by your hand,” Thordis said. A second elf fell onto his face.

 

“Your universe was never meant to be. Your world and your family will be extinguished!” Malekith roared. He sent a blast of pure, red power from his body. It slammed through Thordis, who vanished with a flicker. “What?”

 

“Missed me!” the actual Thordis exclaimed from the air, coming down from the clouds with a storm of lightning surrounding her. She crashed into the cobblestones, making a crater and sending the nearest Dark Elves and Malekith flying, electricity crackling off of them. The dark elves in the back, although safe from her blast, now realized that four of them had dropped dead. They started to frantically search around.

 

Malekith, still solely focused on Thordis, retaliated with another bolt of the Aether’s energy. Thordis attempted to deflect his attack with a blast of lightning, but she was still knocked back. She clamored back to her feet and stared Malekith down. His second blast, she deflected yet again, her feet slid through the grass, but with Mjolnir and a web of lightning, she managed to hold the Aether back. Malekith stopped again. She smiled.

 

“You know, with all that power,” She said, wiping dirt from her face, “I thought you’d hit harder.” She grinned, and the faceplate of her helmet closed over the top half of her face. Malekith roared and let the red tendrils of energy leak from his hands and circle around him, a blatant show of strength. Thordis charged. He sent off a blast. She slipped the side and twisted, hurling Mjolnir into him. He was thrown backward and smashed through his men, they screamed in pain as they came in contact with the power of the Aether and also had a large dark elf in full armor knock them to the ground. He continued to slam backward with the force of Mjolnir. He smashed through several columns of the buildings in Greenwich and landed on top of a car. Mjolnir returned to Thordis’ hand and pulled him to where Malekith lay, on the other side of the growing collection of Dark Elf bodies that had throwing knives sticking out of them. She landed in front of Malekith and conducted arcs of electricity from her hammer to the car he was lying on. He screamed in pain, his white skin turning black with electrical burns. 

 

* * *

 

 

Loki knew that somehow, Jane’s plan had worked, as a squadron of Dark Elves suddenly vanished as they stumbled around the lawn, looking for the mysterious killer. Probably fifteen Dark Elves were strewn around the courtyard with jagged, icy knives sticking out of them. Then there were the five that Thordis incinerated and the three that Malekith fell into. That was half of his reinforcements already. And now, that the convergence was beginning and all the realms could observe their battle, it was time for Loki to be seen defending the realms.

 

* * *

 

 

Thordis charged Malekith and dropped and slipped under one of his blasts. She slammed Mjolnir into his face, and he stumbled back and vanished. She pressed forward, looking for him when suddenly he reappeared and slammed her onto the ground. She rolled and steadied herself to her feet with an overturned car. She charged forward once more, leaping and slamming a bolt into Malekith. Malekith raised his guard, pushing back with the Aether, and she was launched into the sky. She fell through a rift and started hurtling toward Malekith with the force of his blast and Earth’s gravity. Mjolnir collided with his jaw, and his back slammed through two cars before smashing into a third one and disappearing through a temporary phase shift. The pair of them and the cars appeared in the dark skies of Svartalfheim and collided into the rocky side of a mountain. They rolled, the pieces of metal debris from the vehicles moving with them. Then they passed through another rift and hurtled through the skies of Midgard. Then they passed through a third rift and landed hard in the dust of Svartalfheim. Thordis scrambled to her feet, as did Malekith, and she launched Mjolnir into his chest, but it vanished before it could collide. He sent a blast of Aether at her, and she fell backward, tumbling through a rift. She collapsed onto the top of a Midgardian building in London, sliding down the glass and dropping through the air, trying to summon Mjolnir before she fell through another approaching rift. She did not succeed, falling with Malekith through it.

 

* * *

 

 

Armed with two Dark Elf blades, Loki was slicing through the Dark Elves that remained. Once lunged at him with a forward strike, but he caught the blade with the flat edges of the two he wielded and twisted the hilt out of its grasp. Then he crossed the swords with a swipe and the head of the creature tumbled off. He spun away from a sharp blast from a coming Dark Elf and pretended to run, the Dark Elf stepped forward and through a rift, vanishing before his eyes. He glanced up at the sky, where Midgardian fighting jets were trying to attack the ship, but their inability to detect the rifts meant their missiles vanished and one was sucked into the portal to Vanaheim. Midgardians were so simple-minded, but Loki would hardly look heroic if he allowed them to die of their own stupidity. He jumped through a rift to the side and appeared in the skies of Vanaheim, colliding with the wayward fighter jet. The pilot screamed like a child. Loki held onto the front of the jet with all his strength and forced his hand through the glass of the cockpit, angling the steering device and sending them both through another rift. They appeared on Midgard, above the water of the river that cut through London. The Midgardian pilot pulled a lever by his chair and shot out of the plane, a parachute opening and letting him safely drift into the water. Loki was knocked backward by this maneuver, falling through a rift again.

 

* * *

 

 

Thordis and Malekith slammed together into the frozen mountains of Jotunheim. Thordis rolled and brushed off the ice. Malekith struggled to his feet and looked at her with fury, his face was now completely black and charred from her continuous onslaughts of lightning when she could. To her right, something in the cave of Jotunheim roared and bounded out. It was one of the monstrous megafauna typical to the realm. It charged and leaped at the pair, shattering the cliff of ice they were on and sending the shelf hurtling toward the spikes below, but not before they passed through another rift to rush through the skies of another realm.

 

* * *

 

 

Loki fell out of the ground of Greenwich and rolled onto his back. Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig were running and jumped over him as they crossed paths. “Help!” Jane exclaimed. Chasing after them was five of the remaining Dark Elves. Loki struggled to his feet and went to help. He charged at the Dark Elves, dodged the first blade, and sliced upward. He ducked a firearm being swung like a club and removed the hand of the elf that held it. He parried a strike, slipped past the Elf’s arm, ducked a second’s swipe, kicked the assailant back, decapitated one with a downward stroke, ran one through with a blade, and then was knocked to the ground, one pointed a firearm at him. Jane Foster, to the side, hammered three buttons and the elf vanished, replaced by the Midgardians that Loki hadn’t cared to remember who were kissing.

 

“Darcy?” Jane asked.

 

“Jane!” Darcy exclaimed, dropping the boy onto his back. 

 

“Ian?” Dr. Selvig asked.

 

“Selvig!” The Ian boy exclaimed.

 

“Meowmeow!” Darcy said as Mjolnir surged overhead.

 

They saw, from the courtyard, Malekith was standing below the convergence, the red tendrils of the Aether’s power snaked up to where the realms were aligning above the towering black shit.

 

“Where’s Thordis?” Darcy asked.

 

“I have an idea,” Jane said. “But - I need a couple of my quantum field generators, and I need to get close to Malekith.”

 

“We had some spares in the van,” Ian said. He, Darcy and Selvig ran off to fetch them. Loki and Jane cowered behind a short garden wall and watched Malekith’s power grow in the courtyard.

 

“I can get close,” Loki said, looking at the growing vortex of red. “Tell me what you need.”

 

“I can cause a localized rift. Hopefully, I can get him somewhere else long enough for him to miss the convergence.” Jane said. “But he has to be holding one of the generators. It has a very, very limited range by itself.”

 

“I understand, I'll do what I can,” Loki said. “On the bright side, if Thordis summoned Mjolnir, she’s still alive, and on her way.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! What did you all think of this chapter, and what are you looking forward to in the final climax? 
> 
> Next week, I was considering a double or even a triple update. I'd post the final chapter of this, the associated chapter in _Therapy_ , and possibly also the prologue of Winter Solider? Let me know what all of you think!
> 
> Thanks again! See you next week!


	7. Exaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for your continued support! It's my pleasure to present the final chapter of Dark World:

With the convergence nearly at its peak, Malekith was basking in his near victory, surrounded by the power of the Aether. In the distance, pushing through the Aether’s scalding powers was the Princess Thordis. She did not give up, it seemed. She held her hands up as if such could protect her from the force of the Aether.

 

“Malekith!” She shouted.

 

“Darkness returns, Asgardian. Have you come to witness the end of your universe?” Malekith asked her.

 

“I’ve come to accept your surrender!” the Princess yelled. “You have no idea what I’m capable of!”

 

“I have seen what you are capable of, foolish girl! Your capabilities remain shackled by your own armor!” Malekith yelled. “King Odin, like his father before him, fears power. I EMBRACE IT!” He roared, the swirling scarlet around it pulsing and surging with raw power. He looked up at the sky as if filled with blinding white light, “The Aether cannot be destroyed.”

 

“But you can,” The Princess said. “After all,” she laughed, “You are more of a fool than I, Malekith. For you fall easily for the same trick twice.”

 

* * *

 

 

Thordis ended up in Charing Cross station after falling out of Jotunheim. She asked for directions to Greenwich, and the instructions were not simple for this underground transportation system. She would have to take the Northern line two stops to Waterloo station, and then the Jubilee line six stops to the Northern Greenwich station. From there, the kind, confused woman directed, she would have to take the 188 bus 7 stops to finally reach the campus. The total trip would probably take half of an hour, time Thordis did not have. Thordis decided that she did not have the time for such a thing, and she resigned herself to summon Mjolnir. Two minutes later, she was hurtling through the skies of London, dodging the rifts, as she reached the convergence, where the swirling vortex of the red Aether was starting to drift to the other realms. Thordis spotted Jane, Selvig, Darcy, and Ian standing in the shelter of a crumbled building, staring up at the vortex in awe.

 

“Where is Loki?” Thordis asked.

 

Jane pointed to the swirl of red with a worried expression.

 

Thordis swung Mjolnir, building all the energy she could as she flew through the atmosphere, and into the red funneling vortex. As she pushed toward the center, where Malekith stood, she  was surprised to see herself standing before him.

 

“The Aether cannot be destroyed!” Malekith roared. Something moved behind him.

 

“But you can,” The Thordis on the ground said. The false Thordis then laughed. “You are more of a fool than I, Malekith. For you fall easily for the same trick twice.” She vanished.

 

The spike of one of Jane’s quantum field generators plunged through Malekith’s torso, in a downward angle, so the prod was completely embedded in his trunk, bursting out below his navel. The vortex around them began to subdue in intensity. A blade embedded itself in Malekith’s shoulder and Loki flipped over Malekith, sprinting away, Thordis roared and crashed Mjolnir into the ground. It sent Malekith flying back into his ship. There was a ripple of white, the quantum field generator discharged, and Malekith and his ship disappeared in one sudden flash. The red energy and dirt of the courtyard fell to the ground. Thordis saw all the power being sucked back into a small red gemstone lying in the soil. Delicately, she picked it up and slipped it in a pouch on her belt before rising tall. The dust cleared. And there, in the remnants of the apocalyptic swirl, as the convergence reached its apex, were Thordis and Loki, standing victorious, for all the realms to see.

 

“Thordis!” Jane exclaimed, running across the courtyard and pulling Thordis into a hug. “Oh, thank god, you’re alright. Thank  _ god _ my plan worked.”

 

“Jane,” Thordis hugged her. “Of course it worked. It was your plan.”

 

Jane blushed and grinned, pulling Thordis down into a searing kiss.

 

“Do you  _ have _ to do that in public?” Loki asked.

 

As if spurred on by his disgust, their kiss deepened, Thordis tipping Jane back.

 

“Now I feel like you’re just doing this to annoy me,” Loki said, averting his eyes as the kiss clearly included the use of tongue. Coming out of the rubble of the university and the surrounding streets of London were the Midgardians. Their faces were shocked, they held up their devices to photograph the display. Some of them just gaped. “Everyone’s watching us.”

 

The couple finally broke apart because they were  _ laughing _ . Thordis pulled Jane back to her feet, an arm thrown around her shoulders. Someone in the audience began to clap. Others joined in. Someone whooped. Soon, the Midgardians were standing at the edges of the courtyard, cheering. The convergence passed above them.

 

“Why are you still here?” Thordis asked Loki.

 

“What do you mean?” Loki asked.

 

“I f you run,” Thordis said. “I won’t follow.”

 

Loki smiled, “I’m not abandoning you. I’m a good sibling, you see.”

 

“Ah, yes, a good sibling,” Thordis said. “You’ll betray me in the next five minutes.”

 

“Not five,” Loki said. “Fifteen, the soonest.”

 

“Are you guys gonna stay?” Jane asked.

 

“I-” Thordis sighed and looked up at the sky. “We have to return to Asgard.”

 

“Are you sure?” Loki asked.

 

“Yes,” Thordis said.

 

“How do you know the  Allfather won’t throw us in the dungeons for treason?” Loki asked.

 

“Beyond saving all the realms in a clear view of everyone,” Thordis said. “We have the Aether to barter with. And, I believe Odin and I are overdue a conversation.”

 

“Come back,” Jane said.

 

“I will, I swear,” Thordis said. Jane stepped back. “Last chance,” She told Loki.

 

Loki shrugged, “I might regret it later, but I’m coming with.”

 

“ Thank you, brother,” Thordis said. “Heimdall!” She called to the skies. They opened with a beam of chromatic light.

 

* * *

 

 

“You’ve decided to show your face in these halls after the stunt you pulled?” Odin asked as Thordis strode in, with Loki behind her.

 

“I have not come to fight, Father,” Thordis said. “I have come to speak, and for once, you will listen.”

 

“Very well, the Princess will speak,” Odin said.

 

“The realms were united, and in their unity, they saw Loki, and I give our lives to destroy Malekith and emerge victoriously,” Thordis said. “Speaking frankly, Father, the good that does for Asgard is astounding. Now, imagine the outrage if we were imprisoned, or exiled, for saving the nine realms?”

 

“You may be untouchable through your virtue, but Loki’s sentence has not been filled,” Odin said.

 

“Then let him fill it through service,” Thordis said.

 

“Service? What, and be supervised by you? You really think you can control him?” Odin asked. “That is a foolish thing to say. He will betray you.”

 

“You betrayed me,” Thordis said. She lifted her wrists, “I was a child when you told me the Jarngreipr were bracelets of a rare metal, the same as Gungnir, made to enhance my natural magical abilities. I never questioned why they so closely resemble shackles. But when I tried to destroy the Aether, they held me back. They rattled, and they burned until I had to stop using my full power or else lose my limbs.”

 

“The Jarngreipr were a preventative measure to, yes, limit you until you took the throne in my place. Until I knew you were ready. But all this time, you have disobeyed me, you have disrespected me-”

 

“And I saved the realms in the process!” Thordis exclaimed. “Father, admit it, you were wrong. There is no shame in making a mistake as long as you learn and grow from it.”

 

“The choices you make are naive, Thordis,” Odin said. “You cannot be a good woman and a great Queen.”

 

“I don’t need to be great. Mother was a  _ good _ Queen,” Thordis said. “And I shall consider myself lucky to be half the woman she was.”

 

“Your mother didn’t seek power,” Odin said.

 

“Neither do I,” Thordis said. “I seek the happiness of my people and the safety of the realms. I did not seek out Malekith to usurp your throne.”

 

“You did it to defend your mortal.”

 

“I did it to defend everybody,” Thordis said. “And I succeeded.”

 

“What will you have me do?” Odin asked. “Give you the throne to continue your protection?”

 

“No,” Thordis said. “I have no desire to take the throne until such a time it is necessary. What I do want to do is I want to defend the realms, with Loki. I want to traverse the Bifrost without your permission, to come and go as I please and do what I please upon these realms. I want to visit the other realms for reasons beyond battle, I want to be a face of diplomacy as well as protection, especially for Midgard, as they are advancing faster each day. I want to be a protector, not just of Asgard, but of all life, everywhere.”

 

“You consider yourself to be a protector?” Odin asked. “Like the Valkyrie that you worshipped as a child? They died for a reason.”

 

“The Valkyrie represented what was good of Asgard, I consider it an honor to carry their name,” Thordis said.

 

“You don’t want me to free you of the Jarngreipr?”

 

“Consider it a concession, a trade for you to allow me these terms,” Thordis said. “I will also give you the Aether, and let you do whatever you wish with it.”

“And Loki? How will you control him?”

 

“The same way you control me, but instead of limiting his power, I will make sure he is incapable of committing any act I find morally reprehensible,” Thordis said.

 

“He killed hundreds.”

 

“And he will save millions,” Thordis said. “He has agreed to this.”

 

“I know I’ll end up regretting it,” Loki murmured. 

 

“You may doom Asgard,” Odin said.

 

“You said no matter what I do if I do anything you dislike, if I do anything you do not approve of, you will hate me for it,” Thordis said. “You seek to control me, to limit my power, by any means necessary. So forgive me, Father, I can no longer trust your warnings.”

 

Odin sighed, “I have doomed Asgard.”

 

“Oh, I’m not so sure,” Thordis said. “You’ve been wrong before.”

 

Odin seemed to resign himself to Thordis’ terms. He scraped his hand along the shaft of Gungnir, something bubbled on his fingers. He sent it through the air, liquid gold which wrapped around Loki’s wrists like cuffs. “These bind you to Princess Thordis, daughter of Frigga, Princess of Asgard. From this day forth, you shall be incapable of violating the limits of her expectations. If you commit a slight or treachery reprehensible to her moral sense, you shall suffer unimaginable pain.” As Odin finished the enchantment, the cuffs solidified on his wrists.

 

“Thank you, father,” Thordis said.

 

She pulled out the small red gemstone and held it out in her hand. It floated through the air and into Odin’s. She offered him Mjolnir as well.

 

“No,” Odin said. “It belongs to you if you are worthy of it. And as you still lift it, then you are still worthy.” Thordis nodded and turned, walking out of the crumbled throne room. Odin stopped her by speaking, “You have not earned my approval. But, if my words have any worth-” he cleared his throat, “-I do hope that you’ll prove me wrong.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Thordis said as she left. She didn’t look back. “I will.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So, you’re leaving again?” a woman called as Loki and Thordis reached the Bifrost. They turned to see Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun.

 

“There is work to be done,” Thordis said. “The realms need protection.”

 

“And you trust Loki?” Sif asked.

 

“He had chances to betray me, and he never did,” Thordis said. “And now, he is incapable of betrayal.”

 

“So what will you do?” Fandral asked.

 

“Seek out injustice and violence across the realms and put an end to it,” Thordis said. “Meet with foreign dignitaries and offer the protection of Asgard. Whatever we must to ensure peace.”

 

“When will you come back?” Volstagg asked.

 

“I will come and go, my friends, I assure you,” Thordis said. “This is not an exile. This is freedom.”

 

“No,” Sif said. “He asks when you will come, and you will stay.”

 

Thordis nodded, “Only the responsibility of the throne will supersede my pledge to protecting the realms.”

 

“If you need us-” Hogun began.

 

“I will call upon you when needed, I swear,” Thordis said. She pulled each of them into a hug. “My friends, until we meet again.”

 

“Until then,” They echoed back. They each sent Loki a half-hearted glare before exiting the watchtower. Leaving just Heimdall.

 

“To Midgard?” Heimdall asked.

 

“Yes, Heimdall, thank you,” Thordis said.

 

“Why did you not tell Odin of the Mad Titan?” Heimdall asked.

 

“You were listening to our conversations,” Loki said.

 

“It’s in my nature,” Heimdall said with a smile.

 

“If he knew of this Sinus creature-”

 

“ _ Thanos _ ,” Loki hissed.

 

“Yes, well, he would search for war,” Thanos said.

 

“And that is not what you’re doing?” Heimdall asked.

 

“No,”  Loki said. “Thanos orchestrates death and destruction across the realms, but always with the purpose of expanding his collection. I lost his only stone when he sent me after the Tesseract. Now, two are on Asgard, and he will not be able to track them while they are in Odin’s vault. He will grow desperate. He will make mistakes. We will find him in the trail of death.”

 

“If we find these stones before he does and secure them, he will be incapable of courting Death,” Thordis said.

 

“Which is literal?” Heimdall asked.

 

“I don’t understand how, but Loki claims such,” Thordis said.

 

Loki sighed, “He is… he considers himself the suitor of Death. Death, which, he claims is a literal entity and not a universal concept. I never understood it. I wasn’t exactly in my right mind when I was in his domain.”

 

“Well, I will tell you if I see anything,” Heimdall said. He opened the Bifrost “And I wish you the best, Thordis.”

 

“Thank you, Heimdall.” She stepped forward.

 

“Try not to die, Loki,” Heimdall said.

 

“Eh,” Loki shrugged, stepping after his sister.

 

They vanished in the blinding light.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you! I hope the ending was satisfying to you all. Although this is the end of Our Dark World, I encourage you to continue reading the series. _Therapy_ will also receive an update today detailing the aftermath of the events of Dark World on the rest of the Avengers, and their reaction to the conclusion here. I highly encourage you all to read it!
> 
> As always, your feedback is appreciated. I would love to hear your thoughts about this conclusion!
> 
> Thank you all; once more!


End file.
